The Tribeless
by The-Lazy-Flare
Summary: After encountering a strange friend of Smildon's, Tom goes on a scan quest to find some "tribeless" creatures. Yet sometimes, it's best to just leave things hidden... (Sister Fic to Chasing Memories).
1. Connections

A year had passed since the "passing" of Tangath Toborn. A year has gone by for those in chaotic, while two solans have blown by for Perim. Yet much hasn't changed. The tribes, although unified by his sacrifice, still have rocky connections.

And humans couldn't stay out of trouble, especially Tom...

It had all started when he'd gone to visit Smildon in Prexxor's Chasm. Sure, he'd gone to also make sure Prexxor's Chasm hadn't developed any other weird sickness, but he mainly wanted to know if Smildon was alright. One of major problems about living in the chasm was that there was a seventy-five percent chance if anyone you knew was still alive if they lived there. So, when he had finally made his way to Smildon's new camp, he hadn't expected there to be anyone else there.

Yet, talking calmly to Smildon as they roasted some sort of meat over the fire, was a creature Tom hadn't even seen before. They seemed to be almost like a toad, with the exception of the row of spines going down their back and their bipedal form. They also seemed to have tons and tons of junk, all packed in a rather comically large bag. Tom made his way over, yet when he heard what the strange guest asked, he instantly jumped behind a tree and began to eavesdrop.

"So, you seriously considering going to join the overworlders?" The toad asked, staring at Smildon with a perplexed look.

Smildon himself seemed to remain silent, deciding to focus all his attention to the fire at hand.

Tom froze where he was, confusion etched across his face. Smildon was already an overworlder! At least, that's what his card said, blue frame and all…

The toad creature went on, crossing their arms and leaning on their stuff. "You know we could use you over at the Oasis. I know you don't like the heat, old friend, but you'll be around others like us. We could use your help! Teaching the young to defend and survive. You'll be safe and-"

That earned a scoff from Smildon, and the furry warrior sent his guest a glare. "Until someone finds it, that is; then everyone has to scatter and run to the hills, regrouping at the other outposts…"

"Well, yes, but-"

"Not to mention our conflicting ideas, right?" Smildon looked back at the fire. "We may be getting old, but I'm not going to give up and hide away in some cavern just because of it."

Tom winced at the coldness of his voice.

The toad creature only shook their head, grabbing their cooked meat stick and beginning to eat. "You've always been a fighter, Smildon. Part of this old wart is glad that side of you hasn't simmer down yet. But I can tell you'd make a wonderful teacher, so don't give up on that idea completely… By the way, is the human hiding behind the tree that same human you were telling me about?"

Tom tensed, but after getting a "yep" from Smildon, he sheepishly made his way to the duo.

"Uh, hi there." Tom smiled, holding his hand out for the toad creature to shake. "Name's Tom."

"Nice to meet you, Tom." The toad creature shook atoms hand, and Tom had to stop himself from recoiling. They were smily to the touch. "My name is Hitali. I can't thank you enough for saving Smildon and Prexxor's Chasm! A wonderful place like this, despite it's many dangers, would be a travesty to lose."

"Don't mention it," Tom said, starting to relax at Hitali's friendly nature. It was a welcomed change to the normally annoyed or hostile nature of other creatures.

"Good, so I hope you don't mention this conversation as well, if you could." Hitali chuckled, grabbing a stick of meat and handing it to Tom. "Come, let us talk of other things, yes? Tell me about yourself."

Tom looked over at Smildon, who just shrugged nonchalantly and bit into his food.

The rest of the night was spent swapping stories and eating food together. Tom remembered telling Hitali a number of stories, ranging from his first trip to Perim to countless other matches in the drones. Hitali would tell stories of the times he and Smildon fought with other creatures, but never seemed to go into detail. All the while, every time Tom tried to grab a scan, Hitali managed to ether mess up the scan or unintentionally block it.

It would be a lie if he said he wasn't disappointed, but learning more about Smildon and how Perim was like back in the day was pretty cool. Before Tom even knew it, the sun began to rise, and Hitali declared it was time for him to leave.

"It was nice meeting you, Tom." Hitali smiled, once again shaking Tom's hand. "You've provided some interesting insight on how humans work."

"Uh, actually, could I grab a scan of you? From the way those stories go, you'd make an excellent addition to my te-" Tom began, but was quickly silenced by Hitali's croak of a laugh.

"A-a scan?!" Hitalli began , almost doubling over. "Oh, oh my that's rich! W-what a wonderful joke!"

"I'm not joking!" Tom replied hastily, taking a step towards Hitali. "If your friends with Smildon, then you must be an excellent warrior! I could totally use you for my next match!"

At that Hitali paused, glancing at Tom with a somewhat dissapointed look, like a teacher upset with a student. "Ah, see here, that's the problem Tom. You misunderstand how a negotiation works. In order to get me to be scanned, you must earn it."

"Well what do you want me to do?"

"Hm…" Hitali paused once more, scratching his warty chin before looking to Smildon. "What should the boy do, Smildon? I'm worried I'll give him something to easy."

"Leave me out of this," Smildon only muttered, finishing off what could have probably been his fourteenth meat stick. "Just don't kill the kid, alright."

"C'mon Smildon! Whatever Hitai can dish out, I can handle it" Tom looked from Smildon to Hitali, determination radiating from his face. "So what's the challenge?"

"My, what an adventurous spirit…I got it!" Hitali smiled, a mischievous glint sparkled in his eyes as he grabbed his things. "You must find me two more times, understood? When you've done that, you must tell me what you've learned, alright? Only then will I allow you to scan me..."

"Huh..." Tom paused, thinking over the task. "But how will I find you?"

"My boy, if I gave you the answers, you'd never learn!" Hitali croaked out a laugh, before turn to Smildon. The mirth was so thick in his voice, it practically oozed out. "And you! You better not die while I'm gone, you old coot."

"Get lost, you greedy wart." Smildon replied back, but his voice lacked any hostility.

"May we met again!" He called out before quickly squatted down, and then jumped. He shot into the sky like a bottle rocket, and vanished into the clouds. Tom didn't see him land, and watched the sky with a shocked expression. Ok, so he had super jump as well, something Tom could definitely use on his team.

"Whoa…" Tom stared with wide eyes. "Smildon, how'd you know that guy?"

"Long story." Smildon grumbled, putting out the fire and beginning to pack up camp. "Also, it's none of your business."

"What about the Oasis? What was that about?!"

"None of your business." Smildon replied again, already having taken his tent down.

"Why are they hiding? Also I thought you were already an Overworlder, what was Hitali talking about-"

"Tom." Smildon growled, mostly as a warning to stop asking him. "Shut up."

There was a pause between them, lasting about two minutes, before Tom spoke up again.

"At least tell me where I can find him!" Tom begged, his curiosity getting the best of him.

"Find Hitali? Ha! Hitali goes wherever there's money." Smildon smirked. "Yet very few even spot him there. You'd have better luck finding the Oasis itself, and you'd have to search the border for days. Not to mention there-"

"It's by a border? Like the Mipedian-Overworld border?"

Smildon stoped for a moment, alerting Tom to the fact he was most likely right. He pushed more, gearing up for more and more questions.

"Are there other creatures like Hitali at the Oasis? You know how to get there, right? Maybe i could-"

"Tom." Smildon warned once again, turning to face the human with tired eyes. "Stop asking questions you aren't ready for…"

His voice wasn't too harsh, but it was clear to Tom that he wouldn't get anything else from Smildon. Giving up and letting out a sigh, Tom made his way over to some of Smildon supplies, helping him gather them up. "...Sorry, Smildon. I didn't mean to pry..."

"It's fine, it's fine….Just don't mention any of this ever again, to anyone else; and we'll call it even."

* * *

"Well Tom, I must say it's been awhile since you've stopped by here." Bodal said, crossing his arms in a pompous manner. "Are you going to help me organize the arsenal, or are you just going to laze about."

"Nice to see you too, Bodal." Tom sighed, pressing down his annoyance. "Actually, I was wondering if you could answer some questions."

One of the best and worst things about Bodal, minus his job, would have to be how much he talked. The creature was often synonymous with "Blather-mouth", and if you could get him to talk, he'd spill the beans about all sorts of secrets. Examples of this being rare battle gear, or bits of gossip he'd gathered from others. Yep, if you ever wanted to know something most kept quiet about, you'd ask Bodal.

If you were willing to wade through his sass and blabbering.

"Oh if it's about the new battle gear, I'm afraid that's clasifi-"

"No, no, It doesn't involve any battle gear," Tom quickly cut in, making his way to Bodal's desk. He kept mind of the scattered papers that littered the floor, remembering how'd he'd nearly had his ear yelled off last time he stepped on one. "Do you know anything about an Oasis, one around the Overworld and Mipedian border?"

"An Oasis?" Bodal raises an eyebrow. "There's only a few, but why would you want them? They don't offer much in terms of benefits, not mugically or battlegear wise. As a matter of fact, most of them are left under the Mipedian control due to their kingdom's lack of water. Trust me it was quite a pickle deciding that when the official borders were drawn, Maxxor's father nearly-"

"Bodal, are there any creatures that live there? Like a village or something?"

"At the Oases? If you mean around, yes; there are probably some villages, but not too close, seeing as they're rather close to the border." Bodal pondered, gazing away as he thought. "But with the war finally ending, perhaps they'll move closer. That could be a problem if-"

"Bodal." Tom deadpanned, starting to lose his patience. "What about Hitali, do you know who he is?"

" ** _Hitali?!_** " Bodal turned his gaze back at Tom, eyes wide with shock. He didn't even notice the inkwell he knocked over in his haste. "Where did you hear about _him_?!"

"I've just heard about him from some other creatures, who is he? Also you spilled ink all over you paper…"

"Gah! Don't just stand there - _go get me some rags!_ "

It took Tom a few moments to find the rags, seeing as they were scattered here and there. By the time Bodal and him had clean up all the ink, the parchment was beyond saving. Bodal sighed, rubbing his temple as he tried not to focus on all the work lost.

"Tom,"

"Yeah?"

"Why do you want to know about Hitali?" It came out more as a groan, like Bodal dreaded answering it.

"Well, I was hoping to get a scan of him. From what I've heard, everyone says he's really tough." Tom half lied, knowing that Hitali himself had said he was pretty strong.

And for the second time Tom could ever remember, Bodal paused. Tom could see the look in his eyes, the way he was thinking carefully about what he was going to say. This meant that there must have been more than what Bodal was about to say. But before he could accuse the green skinned creature about it, Bodal spoke up once more.

"You can't."

Tom waited for him to go on but oddly enough, Bodal remained quiet. It was almost unnerving, not hearing an extremely long description coming from him...

"...and why not?" Tom asked, more to break the odd silence then to answer his question.

"Because," Bodal returned to his desk, grabbing a new parchment of paper and going back to work. "Hitali is dead. He's been dead for nearly twenty solans now, if I can recall correctly."

And just like that, it seemed a damn had opened, because now Bodal wouldn't shut up.

"It was a honorable death, at least. You see, Hitali was a scout for Maxxor's father. During a fire in the underworld capital; Hitali notice that in one of the burning homes, two children had gotten stuck inside. He dove in, wanting to save the children. Yet the fire had been too much, and all three were lost to the blaze. He was a decent creature, minus his greed and gambling problems. One of the Overworlds best scouts at the time. But I doubt anyone else remembers him, seeing by how long it's been…."

"... oh."

That's all Tom really could say. because unless he'd died for the majority of last night, then Hitali wasn't dead. Yet Bodal didn't seem to notice Tom's confusion.

"Yes, but I recommend you don't ask the others about Hitali, there have been some unsavory rumors going around about him for a while now."

"Really? Like what?"

"Oh, well it's all over the board. Some say that he was having an affair with an underground warrior, while others say he was actually a mipedian spy. Of course if Maxxor ever heard of them, the culprits usually suffered greatly. You see, Hitali was to Maxxor as Drabe was to A- wait a minute, what does Hitali have to do with an Oasis?"

"Nothing, I was just-" Tom paused, scrambling to think up something. "- Just trying to get a good scan for a friend of mine!. You know, for the game."

"Ah, right. Well, do you have anymore questions?" Bodal asked, once again lifting his head to face Tom. "Because i'm terribly busy, seeing as Olkiex is currently on vacation. You know, despite his lack of common sense, he's really deserved this vacation; even though I have no idea where he is-"

"Can you tell me about Smildon?"

"You mean the Smildon that lives in Prexxor's Chasm? Don't you already know him?" Bodal squinted in mild annoyance. "I mean, you were the one that-"

"Yeah yeah, I mean, why does he say he's going to "join" the Overworlder? Isn't he already one?"

"Smildon? Oh heavens no! Barely any creature that live in Prexxor Chasm are Overworlders." Bodal chuckled, shaking his head at the thought. "Despite their origins and connections, those creatures are all tribeless, even Smildon! Although it would be a wise choice to take Maxxor's offer and finally join the Overworlder, seeing as he isn't getting-"

"Tribeless?! There are tribeless creatures?!" Tom gawked, eyes wide. "How come no one ever mentioned this?!"

"Well of course there are! It'd be silly not to have tribeless creatures. You see, every tribe has their unwanted outcasts, their undesirables, and their exiled. They also have their runaways but they're basically the same thing..." Bodal began, a smile on his face as he explained. "Now, normally these creatures ether stay within their original tribes borders -there for remained "loosely" in that tribe- or they go to a new tribe! This is more common with Underworlders and the Overworlders, but some Mipedians and Danians do this too."

"Bodal, that doesn't-" Tom began, before being quickly cut off by Bodal once more.

"I wasn't finished!" Bodal snapped, crossing his arms. "...as I was saying; Tribeless are when you get a creature who doesn't want to go to any of the other tribes, or the other tribes wouldn't take them. Now, a number of reasons could be lack of civility, morals, committing an unspeakable crime; it can go on and on and such."

"If there are so many reasons for a creature to become tribeless, why aren't there any?" Tom asked, before adding. "I mean, why haven't I heard about them before?"

"Well, think about it. All of the nearby land is the territory of the 4 tribes. And considering that tribless are the rejects or abonders of their tribes -most likely living out in shame or secrecy- very few trust and respect them. So the tribeless are normally forced to live in horrible places in order to live in peace and not be driven out. Thus, why Smildon originally stayed in Prexxor's Chasm. Actually, now that I think about it; He might have even been born there, but then again I've only heard stories about him so I have no idea about his complete backstory. Yet his described characteristics don't match any other tribes, seeing as he's…"

And just like that, Bodal went along on a tangent again. It wasn't like Tom noticed, seeing as he was too busy thinking about the possibility of the tribeless. If they were all strong like Smildon and Hitali, then they'd be great for his deck!

"Whoa...man, wait until I tell Kaz and the gang! Thanks Bodal, I owe you o-" Tom began, before once again being interrupted by Bodal.

"You owe me three, actually. Seeing as how i've answered three of your questions." That smug look returned, and Bodal hopped off his stool and over to some near by battle gear. "You can start organizing with the turwigs to your right, and then make your way around the room counterclockwise. And make sure not to step on any of my papers!"

It would take Tom another five hours to weasel his way out of helping Bodal.

* * *

The port court was, as always, full of players. So when Tom called Kaz, Sarah, and Peyton to meet up with him by the drones suddenly; it wasn't surprising that two out of the three of them would be busy.

Kaz was stuck in a drone match, and Sarah was on a secret Mt. Pillar scan quest.

Thankfully, Peyton was free. So Tom had Peyton meet him outside by Imthor's drone, on a bench near some of the greenery. Just far away so that no one would hear, but not to shady to suspect something…

"Wow, you know i've heard rumors about there being Tribeless Mipedians, but no one ever talks about 'em before, dude." Peyton said, taking a second to sip on the soda he'd snagged from the port cort. "Mipeidans consider it a major "no-no" to let them happen, you know? All that secret Mipedian knowledge and such."

"Then why doesn't anyone talk about them? You'd figure someone would slip and mention it…" Tom muttered, examining an overworld map he managed to swipe from Bodal's place.

"Well, no one has, like, ever met a tribeless that didn't straight up attack them, save you and your bro Smildon." With hands moving wildly for emphasis, Peyton had always been an interesting person to talk to. "Plus the ones who get away are normally super, super hidden. And they like to keep it that way, know what i'm saying? Just imagine like, 50 angry Najarins."

"Wait, are they all as strong as him?!" Tom exclaimed, eyes wide.

"I dunno, probably? Listen i've only gathered this from the few times anyone's answered me bro. Even the other Mipedians don't know who's really tribeless or who's, well… gone." Peyton shrugged, his voice drifting off at the last part.

"Wait, you mean that-"

"Yeah, but they're usually just rumors…" Peyton's voice seemed to get calmer. "Something to give some dudes to hold on to, you know?"

"Yeah...yeah I know." Tom sighed, letting a silence settle between them.

"Oh, Sorry Major T I didn't-" Peyton fumbled with his words, trying to backtrack on what he said.

"Nah, it's cool, don't sweat it Peyton." Tom replied as he sat the map down on the bench they were on. He smoothed it over and reached for a pencil. "You got any idea where some towns are? I'm thinking that if I ask around, I could find something about it."

"Huh, well…" Peyton plucked the pencil, examining the map before placing a few X's here and there. "Those are only a few I know about, sense my Mipedian bros tends to want to show of their homes and such. Apparently a lot of them came from small villages!"

"Thanks Peyton, I couldn't have done this without you." Tom smiled, quickly folding up the map and stashing it in his pocket. "And if you could, maybe just keep it between me, Kaz, and Sarah? If I actually find something, I don't want another Threshold incident, you know?"

"No problemo Major T! Just make sure to include us if you find anything, alright?" Peyton smiled back. "And make sure to bring plenty, and I mean plenty of water my dude. Desert gets hot like nobodies business."

"I've been here for like what, two years? I think I can handle the desert Peyton." Tom smugly said, grabbing his scanner. "I'm gonna head on home and make sure I got everything though. See ya in a few?"

"See ya in a few dude," Peyton nodded, waving Tom off as he ported back to earth. Peyton himself got up from the bench and made his way to Imthor's Drone. He had a battle to win, and he wasn't going to be late for this one. This was going to be his sith battle before finally getting a shot at Imthor, and he was ready.

* * *

 _The water pushed and pulled, it swirled and swished, it rose and fall. Their gate, their connection to the outside, was normally calm and still. Even when people emerged from its depths with supplies and such; rarely did it stir._

 _Yet, today, the water seemed to thrash and squirm, slapping against the edges like miniature tidal waves._

 _At times when the water became wildly, it meant change was in the air._

 _Yet would this change be good or bad? She did not know..._

 _"Tide speaker," a voice called out, footsteps becoming louder and louder as a figure approached. "Tide speaker, is there any change in the pools?"_

 _"None, I fear." She croaked, her voice raspy from her age. "It seems as if we are in for another strange occurrence…"_

 _"...do you know it's nature?"_

 _"..."_

 _Silence envelopes the two; the pools making up for this by their splashing and slapping. It could almost be peaceful, if not for the sense of foreboding._

 _"Perhaps." Sticking her clawed hand into the water, she felt the current lightly push and pull . "The playful nature of the suggests a kind heart, yet their current shows they have a warriors spirit; one that has suffered many hardships…"_

 _"So they're young and hurt? I swear if it's another orphan i'm going to beat the everloving carp out of the creature who-"_

 _"No, they are not like us...they are not from our world…"_

 _"...so a human?"_

 _"I believe so...but the waters have never acted this way before. Not like the others…"_

 _"...so an important human."_

 _"In a way, yes."_

 _The silence envelops them again, just as the tides do with the beach. And just like the oceans, sometimes you'd never know what'd you find once your searched its dark depths…_

 _She hoped that when the time came, her fellow tribeless would make the right choice on what to do with this "human"._


	2. Right Place, Wrong Time

"C'mon Peyton! Kick that Codemaster's code!"

As normal, the port court was as crowded as it could be. With such a popular game as chaotic, who wouldn't want to be where all the action was. And it seemed that today's main attraction was Peyton, the one and only, rematch with CodeMaster Imthor. The chaotic player had managed to get 7 wins in Imthor's drone once again, and was currently in his Codemaster match right now! So far the match had been rather close one, with both of them down to their last creatures.

"He's almost got him" Sarah, on the edge of her seat, smiled widely. She'd been there from the start, not wanting to miss this. "He just needs to be careful and he'll win!"

"Man, Tom's going to hate that he missed this!" Kaz exclaimed, clutching his drink in excitement. "He's been wanting to see Imthor battle ever since we met the guy! Plus, Peyton's strategy is great!"

"Well you called him to tell him, right?" Sarah glanced quickly at Kaz before turning back to the tv, her eyes practically glued to the screen.

"Yeah, I tried, but he said he was busy." Kaz rolled his eyes. "I swear he's going to regret not coming, I haven't seen a match this good since-"

Kaz stopped mid sentence, hearing the telltale sound of someone getting coded. Turning his head back to the screen, he frowned as Peyton slumped in defeat, and Imthor quickly changed back from his Aa'nue scan.

"You battled well, Peytonic Master." Imthor said, walking across the platform to meet with Peyton. His golden mask and monotone voice stopping any emotion from leaking out.

"Same to you, Dude," Peyton replied cheerfully, but his face didn't hide his tired acceptance of the defeat. And before anything else could be hear, the screen shifted to another battle.

"Man, he's been so pumped about this match…" Kaz said, turning back to Sarah. Slowly the conversation volume in the Port court rose, now that the codemaster match had finished. It wasn't a _rule_ for the port court to quiet down during those matches, it was something everyone did. You'd never know when you'd hear a good comeback or a secret about Chaotic.

"Yeah, I'm gonna go meet him by the trams." Sarah sighed as she excused herself, getting out of her chair and grabbing her neglected drink. "You coming?"

"Sure," Kaz said, getting out of his chair and making his way through the departing crowd. "But as I was saying, Tom's been exploring the desert for nearly a week now. He hasn't even ported back here except for water and to avoid any random sand storms."

"He's trying to find Tribeless creatures, right?" Sarah asked, raising an eyebrow. "Well it going to take longer than a week to find any. The Tribeless are known for two things, and one of them's their ability to hide. If they were found too easily, then there probably wouldn't be any Tribeless at all!"

"Far enough, but what's the other thing?" Kaz asked just as the entered the tram station. It was surprisingly empty for that time of day, with only a few other players here and there. If you listen well enough, you could still hear the commotion of the port court. It's faint echo only eerily set up the grim nature of Sarah's next few words.

"They're often too dangerous to mess with." Sarah's replied, too lost in her search to realize how dark the words sounded, her eyes focused on an upcoming tram. Peyton's signature green shirt showed through tinted windows. "But that's never stopped anyone else before…"

* * *

During these past few days in the Mipedian desert, Tom had realized something important about himself. Something he should have known by now, but for some reason seemed to elude him until this very moment.

Tom hated the desert.

He hated it so, _so_ much; because every time he thought he saw something, no matter if it was a glimmer on the horizon or a dune that looked a little bigger then the rest, the results were the same.

It was either a mirage, or just more sand.

"Why couldn't they have been somewhere wet, like the Waterlands, or a beach?" Tom groaned as he trudged through the sands, knowing fully well why there were hided somewhere around here...

If they even were here...

To be honest, Tom was starting to think that maybe Smildon had tricked him. It would have been out of character though, as Smildon was more of a creature of action. And the way he and Hitali chatted that night, it had to be true.

But he'd gone to countless settlements, on both the Mipedian and Overworld borders, and all the answers had been the same; no one knew any odd creatures passing by. And that was with the places he wasn't kicked out of…

Looking at his map once more, Tom felt himself scowl as the countless X's graced his vision. All a bunch of dead ends, towns with no answers and Oases with no creatures. With a sigh, he folded up his map and grabbed his jacket. With the almost finished setting, colder weather was bound to come with the up and coming darkness.

Above him, the stars slowly began to appear, and as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, it only improved. They glowed and flickered with a vibrancy he'd never saw at home. The stars, with their own constellations and clusters, were always nice to look at in Perim. He'd overheard from Bodal and Maxxor that there were names for these constellations, but he couldn't really remember them. Mostly the creatures used them the same way humans used to, for navigation and such. Yet they were often depicted in overworld arts, and most likely in Mipedian arts as well…

And even though he might port back empty handed, the view of the night sky would at least make this trip somewhat worth it.

"Maybe I should just call it quits." Tom sighed, flopping onto the sand and finally allowing himself some rest. A solid week of nothing but sandy shoes and tired limbs, and he'd gotten nothing. Maybe taking a break would allow him some time to rethink his strategy, and maybe find some new leads...

The wind blew by him, gently stirring the sands, but nothing more. It was almost as if it's silence was answering his question…

And then, a few feet to his right, the ground exploded upwards, with a shower of light and sand.

Tom scrambled, as quickly as some one near an explosion could, from the spot, his mind frazzled by the suddenly loud boom. He could barely see past his own face, the cloud of sand that formed had blocked his vision. He tried to keep any sand from getting in his eyes, else he'd have to waste his water.

Yet, a beam of light cut through the cloud like a hot knife through butter, nearly grazing his cheek as it landed in the dunes behind him. Quickly falling back down to the ground, he tried to gather his senses. His ears were ringing, he could barely see, he was stuck in a battle between some creatures…

Tom reached for his scanner, but something grabbed his arm; something slimy and wet and definitely not Mipedian.

Before he could even yell, he was hoisted up and restrained, his arms and legs bound by limbs that glowed in the sandy darkness. The smell of fresh water filled his nose, and as the sand cleared, Tom began to notice more and more creatures around him. Only their figures could be made out, though.

"Don't come any closer!" The creature holding him screeched, looking around frantically. Tom tried to get out of his grip, but found himself tightly pulled to his captor. "Or the-"

"Let go of me you slimy sack of scum!" Tom yelled, unable to do much else.

The other creatures froze, but so did Tom's captor. Two snail like eyestalks slivered down, gazing at Tom for a moment, before a surprised squeak escaped the captor. "A-A HUMAN?!"

"Shoot them!" One of the blurrier creatures called out, aiming what Tom assumed was their battle gear at them. "The human will port away!"

"No, wa-!" Tom cried out, but before he could say anything else, he felt something enter his shoulder at a breakneck speed. It _**burned**_ , burned hotter than anything he'd ever felt before, and from how his captor screeched, it had cut through Tom and hit them too.

The next thing he knew, they were falling, falling deeper than where the sands originally were. Tom noticed how the explosion had cleared out a small cavern, dimly lit by the hole they were falling through. The watery smell seemed to intensify, until finally, with a satisfying splash, they hit the water.

In the chaos, Tom managed to wiggle his way out of the creature's grasp, but he could barely see. The glowing creature seemed to rocket off elsewhere, realizing their hostage was useless. Tom tried to swim up, but his arm was still hurting, bleeding out into the water. Tom reached for his scanner, but it wasn't there. He panicked more, starting to look around in the murky water for it. He couldn't lose his scanner, not now!

But his lungs practically screamed at him. He needed air, he needed air so badly, he needed to was the surface. Where was his scanner. He needed to find it, but he needed to breathe. He tried swimming back up the the surface, but every time he did, it seemed to get farther and farther away.

He gasped for air, and water greeted his lungs.

He gasped more, instinct trying to expel the water, but it was pointless.

He struggled, floundered, but his vision was fading. Yet he still tried, his mind racing at what to do.

Just as his conscious started to leave him, his mind wandered to his friends. To Maxxor and Intress and Bodal and Smildon, to Peyton and Sarah and Kaz.

They'd never know what had happened to him…

He didn't even know what would happened to him, no one ever really talked about dying in Chaotic before.

He gasped one more time, watching as whatever air was left in his lungs float away to the top.

,Tom felt himself start to sink deeper into the warm water. Below him, he hazily thought he saw something glowing.

 _And then he only saw darkness..._

* * *

 _ **She had been getting water root when it happened. The village needed some, with a recent flu epidemic rising. Her mother had asked her to get some for their doctor to use. It was a simple task, but her mother wanted her to do it. Yet the best time to gather water root was at night, for the ripest ones glowed in the darkest caverns, far away from their home and far away from the light.**_

 _ **She tried to get out of it, having planned to follow the Border patrollers; she was eager to learn their patterns, to see when and where they would be in order to plan her latest "trips". But none the less, she accepted. She knew her mother only wanted to keep her out of harm's way...**_

 _ **And her mother did not know about her "trips", and would no doubt put an end to them if she discovered them.**_

 _ **So, rather begrudgingly, she swam to the deep parts of the caverns and proceeded to boringly rip the glowing roots from the river walls. Originally, she thought she'd had to make some game out of it to pass her time.**_

 _ **But when a M'arrillian, one who had claimed he was tribeless not a Sol ago, swam past her while being chased by the some of the patrollers, she blessed her luck and hurriedly followed after them. Some of the patrollers passed her, telling her to go back to the oasis, while other traveled on the pathways on land, unable to swim in the river. She ignored their pleas and followed, wanting to see the action. It had been so long since she'd seen a fight!**_

 _ **Yet she was helpless when the M'arrillian blasted a hole through the cavern, escaping upwards. Noticing the roots grow dark in the moonlight, she watched eagerly as she waited for the Patrollers to be successful, to bring the spy down and such. Oh how she wished she could see it!**_

 _ **Yet, when a**_ **human** _**fell into the water, she froze with panic.**_

 _ **The human would drown, because they can not breathe the water like she can.**_

 _ **But then she quickly remembered that humans have devices, and they'd simply port away before drowning.**_

 _ **Yet this one didn't. They foolishly tried to swim to the surface, but they weren't doing it right. Something sharp and metallic entered her nose, and made her recoil in disgust. She'd recognized that scent anywhere, despite its variation.**_

 _ **The human was bleeding.**_

 _ **The human would**_ **die** _ **.**_

 _ **A dead human would cause others to come, looking for the body of their friend.**_

 _ **A live human could reveal them, if not taken care of properly.**_

 _ **She waited for him to port away. She watched them flounder, silently begging them to just leave. Her mind bounced back to what to do, let the human live and ruin them, or die-**_

 _ **No, that was out of the question. Her mother told her all life was sacred, and that included humans. This Human could have friends and family waiting for them back at their home. They could have loved ones….**_

 _ **A dead human would haunt her, because she could have saved them…**_

 _ **It would be her fault if they died.**_

 _ **The Human stopped moving, starting to sink towards the roots...**_

 _ **She'd never swam so fast in her life, she hooked one of her limbs around his sinking body, and quickly swam the the surface. Her mother would be proud of her, maybe. Her mother never liked humans, but she'd understand. She'd have too...**_

 _ **She broke through the surface, and quickly swam to a nearby rock. She laid the human on their side, trying to cox the water out of their lungs. After a few moments, a satisfying gush allowed the water to escape them, flowing from the rock back into the water.**_

 _ **They weren't breathing…**_

 _ **She picked them up and quickly swam to the pathways.**_

 _ **From there, she ran.**_

 _ **So much for a boring night...**_

* * *

He felt warm.

He felt warm and sleepy, like he'd woken up late on a Saturday morning. The smell of stew graced his nose, and slowly stirred him from his sleep. Maybe his mom was making some stew for dinner tonight. Actually, now that he thought about it, he could use a bite. Surly she wouldn't mind if he grabbed some of it right now...

Tom opened his eyes, with all intention of being in his bedroom and getting some food from his kitchen.

And instead of seeing his bedroom ceiling, he saw a polished stoney surface, with various bottles and charms hanging off from strings.

Tom opened his eyes wider, and quickly gripped the blanket he was wrapped in. It was thick and furry and not like his comforter at all. As a matter of fact, his clothes felt different too.

"...oh no…" Tom barely uttered, his voice raspy and his throat sore. Quickly, he leaned up to get out of whatever bed he was on, but a sting in his shoulder made him freeze and wince in pain. His hand went to his left shoulder, and he felt the bandages wrapped around it.

Suddenly, the memories of last night hit him. Tom gripped the blanket tighter, realizing what could have happened.

"Ah, so he lives." A voice, hard and snarky, calls out. Before Tom can even see who it is, he feels two huge hands push him back onto the bed. He allows it, mostly because he's still reeling from his memory and the pain in his arm. "Take it easy, squirt. You're lucky to even be here right now."

The voice belonged to a creature he'd never seen before. With no neck and a mustard colored body, his four beefy arms and three thick horns gave him away as an underworlder. He seems more like he's built for fighting than for healing, but Tom recognized some of the items around him.

He was in Perim's rough equivalent of a doctor's office.

"Who…?" Tom asked hazily, still not completely there.

"The name's Mooro, kid." He said, getting up and moving over to a nearby desk. A few moments later he returned with a cup of some liquid, and offers it. "Drink, you'll need-"

Tom doesn't even let him finish, he quickly snagged the cup and gulped it's contents down.

"Don't swallow so fast, you'll vomit all over the blankets." Morro chided, but seemed to be more relieved that Tom wasn't too injured. "You're lucky you're even alive, seeing as the blaster shot went right through you. Thankfully a skilled medic like myself can handle some scrawny humans like you."

"Yeah, uh, thanks and all that but can I have my scanner back?" Tom replied nervously, setting the cup down and looking around. "If I can port back to chaotic, I'll-"

"Oh, no you don't! You're still healing! If you-" Mooro began, but Tom quickly cut him off. Politeness be damned, he needed to find his scanner.

"I know, but when we port back to Chaotic, we get patched up. It'll be faster than waiting for me to heal, and you'd have more resources for everyone else." Tom quickly said, looking around. Clearly he'd want to get out of here before Chaor or some other underworlders found him. Being Maxxor's ally had it's pros and cons and all that…

"Ah, great. Of course it does." Mooro sighed, pinching the bridge in between his three red eyes. "Well that's a problem then…"

"What? Why?" Tom asked, feeling a small bit of panic rising.

"It's gone." Mooro stated calmly, as if he was telling Tom what the weather was. "They haven't found it yet."

"...y-you gotta be joking with me." Tom stuttered, feeling five times worse than he already did. "Because if you are-"

"Listen kid, If I had your scanner, you'd be gone by now." Mooro practically barked as he got up, making his way to the doorway. "My guess is that the currents picked it up and settled it down lower on the river bank. So you ain't going anywhere any time soon."

"Great, that's just perfect..." Tom groaned, sitting up once again. He winces, but his panic was more concerning than his pain. "Why did you save me? And where-"

"Jeez, are all humans this curious?" Mooro asked, clearly annoyed. "Listen, i'm gonna get someone else to answer all your questions in a nicer way then I can, so you just sit tight. Got it?"

"But-" Tom began, but was quickly cut off by the sound of someone else calling out.

"Mooro!" A different voice, younger and more smooth, called out. The sound of a curtain of beads being brushed aside echoed from the other room, as well as wet footsteps. "I brought you those water roots you wanted!"

Mooro peered out, a smile graced his face as one of his four arms waved the mystery creature towards him. "Ah, good, good. That'll help with the current bug spreading around camp. Bring them in here, you can set the bundles down next to the human."

As Mooro stepped out of the way, Tom spotted a pale green creature, sopping wet and carrying so much "water root" that he couldn't even see their face, enter. Once again, he had no idea who this creature was as well.

"Have they woken up yet?" They asked, shuffling past the desks full of medicine and over to the end of Tom's bed. "They've been asleep for so long… are you sure they're alive."

"Yeah, i'm pretty sure." Tom replied cheekily, smirking as the green creature yelped and dropped their supply in surprise.

Having dropped the wet roots onto the ground, Tom noticed that they looked rather weird. They're face was flat, they're eyes orange and pupils less, and had tentacles for hair. He couldn't tell what tribe they came from. But he could tell they looked surprised.

"You're awake!" They smiled, showing off their wide row of sharp teeth. "Well it's about time! I was worried you'd never wake up!"

"How long had I been out?" Tom asked, looking from Mooro to the other creature. If he'd been asleep for too long, his friends would probably be looking for him…

"Oh, for about-" the green creature paused, thinking back on the time that passed. "I'd say about three sols."

"Three Sol?!" Tom practically yelled, quickly trying to scramble out of the bed. "I gotta go find my scanner!"

"Hey! What did I just say!" Mooro barked back, rushing over to keep Tom from escaping the fluffy confines. "You're gonna tear the stitching up if you keep squirming like that!"

"No, you don't understand! My friends only know I'm in the Mipedian desert! If they go looking for me, they won't know i'm in the underworld!" Tom tried to explain, nonetheless weaseling his way out of Mooro's grasps. "I need to let them know i'm o-wHOA!"

Tom only managed to stand for a few moments before his legs buckled, and he _would_ have fallen onto the floor had it not been for the green creature's quick reflexes. They grabbed him quickly and helped him up.

"Mooro, he thinks he's in the underworld…" the green creature uttered, their smile growing wider. They didn't even look at Tom, keeping their eyes on Mooro. "Oh cothica he thinks we're underworlders!"

"Shut it." Mooro commanded, turning away from the duo and to the still wet water root. "Just take him to the Tide Speaker, alright. I'm already betting a headache from the two of you being in here."

"Wait, if you're not underworlders, then which tribe are you from?" Tom questioned as he was shuffled around to where he was now leaning on the green creature instead of being held. He fought the urge to recoil at their hair, seeing as some of it started to cling to him. "Uh, also could you maybe calm your hair down?"

"My what?" The creature asked at first, before realizing what he meant. "Oh! You mean- oh uh yeah, sorry bout that."

The "hair" recoiled, shifting over to the other side before the creature and Tom made their way out of the medical room.

The new room was much like the one Tom had been in. The walls were all rock, looking as if the room had been carved out by someone rather then naturally made. Floor pillows and chairs, of all sorts of designs and shapes, littered the side walls, some in better condition than others. The doorway, covered by a row of hanging beads, leaked light in from the outside.

The green creature stopped for a moment, just by the doorway.

"Uh, human? Exactly where do you think you are?" They asked, a hit of mirth in their voice.

"...Honestly, I don't really know." Tom replied, looking at his surroundings to the doorway. The furniture looked like it came from all sorts of different tribes. "Can't you just tell me? I mean, it's not like i'm going to be able to leave, so even if I knew where I was, I can't run away…"

"Right you are." The creature smiled, before walking towards the door. "Well, I believe you're in for a surprise."

Tom closed his eyes at the brightness of the light, his eyes having to take a few moments to adjust. Slowly, as he blinked the brightness away, he began to notice his surroundings.

They were in a valley of some sort, it almost looked like a cave. There was a huge hole in the ceiling, revealing the sun shining inwards into the odd town. All around them, from the bottom of the cavern walls to the very time, were rows upon rows of rooms, much like Mooro's. They seemed to spiral down into the center, where an Oasis sprung up, decked with Palm trees and creatures walking to and fro from it.

But that's what got his attention. The creatures, all from different tribes, walked by and chatted like this was normal. He even saw a few M'arrillians, one guiding a small group of younger creatures like it was teaching them about the Oasis itself. Everyone seemed happy and relaxed and just going about their day as if this was normal...

Suddenly, it all clicked at once.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" The green creature spoke, practically beaming. They're gaze was focused more on the view then on Tom. "Welcome to the Oasis, Human."


	3. You Heard Me!

As Tom and the Green creature made their way towards the ground floor of the Oasis, the creatures they passed seem to watch them with curious, cautious looks. Some actively flinched away when their gazes met, while other snorted or growled in disgust. All and all, a rather unenthusiastic crowd despite their earlier shows of companionship. But once they passed by, the creatures would return to their activities, leaving Tom and his new buddy alone.

"...I guess everyone else isn't happy that I'm awake, right?" Tom whispered to his new friend, looking around at all the hostile creatures. "Do they have something against humans or…"

"Some of us do, I think..." The green creature muttered back, keeping their gaze on the path ahead. "Don't worry, it's only because you're an outsider. If you'd have already been Tribeless, no one would care what you were…"

"Right." Tom nodded, not taking offense at all. He'd gotten use to other creatures who were completely against humans, so it wouldn't be too far off. He could work with this. "Hey, sorry if i'm asking too many questions and all, but where are we going?"

"To the Tide Speaker, didn't you hear what Mooro said a few minutes ago?" The green creature gave Tom a bit of a cheeky look, a joking glint in their eye. They seemed young, maybe even around Tom's age, yet they were still a good head taller than him. But so were a lot of creatures...

"Yeah, but where exactly are they? And who _is_ the Tide Speaker?" Tom fought the urge to ask other questions, like where his original clothes were. The cloths he wore now were a pair of light fitting but patched-up pants, and a weird looking cloak. He hadn't noticed the switch up at first, but he wasn't too peeved about it. All he really wanted was his shoes back, seeing as the cavern floor wasn't exactly smooth.

"You ask too many questions, human."

"Tom."

The creature paused mid walk, turning their head to Tom with a confused look. "What?"

"My name's Tom, Tom Majors." He offered his free hand, holding it out for the creature to shake. "If I'm going to be here for awhile, I'd rather be called by my name. What's yours?"

The creature didn't say anything for a few moments. Their grin fell and was replaced with a gaze of confusion. They just looked from his hand to him and back, trying to figure something out...

Hesitating for just a second, the creature soon reached over and shook his hand with theirs. They seemed to smile wider at this. "It's nice to meet you Tom, I'm-"

"Picsis!"

"Oh no…" The creature quickly stiffened, snapping their head up and looking around them. Their eyes widened in panic, and their grip tightened onto Tom. "Uh, remember when you asked if there were Tribeless who didn't like humans?"

"Oh, i'm guessing this guy's my biggest fan then?" Tom replied sarcastically, spotting someone moving through a crowd of creatures. When they yelled again, Picsis grip almost became bone crushing, but they didn't turn to flee.

"Yeah, and he's really itching to meet you." Picsis said, "so if I tell you to run, run."

"What?!" Tom asked, but was quickly interrupted by Picsis pulling Tom's hood over his head, muffling his voice. Apparently Picsis had planned for this, seeing as Tom was given perfect eye holes to look out of. He felt stupid wearing it, but he didn't have time to pull the hood off.

The creature that emerged from the crowd looked like an overgrown Possum, his two tails flicking wildly. He seems to wear a blaster on his back, and had shorts to match Tom's. But other then that, he was completely bare.

"Where is she?! Where is that sorry excuse for a mechanic?!" The creature yelled out, looking around angrily.

"Over here, Po'kits!" Picsis called out, putting her smile back on her face. "And stop yelling for Chothica's sake, you'll give the children nightmares!"

Po'kits snapped his snout at the duo, before stomping his way over. He towered over them, and his snarl was seemed to make the floor shake. This guy clearly wasn't happy. "You sorry little shrimp, What'd you do to my blaster?!"

"Huh?" Picsis raised her eyes, giving Po'kits a blank look. "What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb, kid! Latula told me he had you working on my gun this morning!" Po'kits reached behind his back, revealing the "damaged" blaster. Tom's eyes widened as he noticed the nice condition it was in, it even seemed to be freshly cleaned. It wasn't as great as the ones in the Kiru City arsenal, but it wasn't bad at all.

"Look's fine to me," Tom muttered, already reaching out to grab it. But Po'kits quickly pulled the blaster away before Tom could even touch it.

"Who are _you_?" Po'kits glared, holding his blaster close to him like one would a treasured item, despite his previous statement. "Don't remembered seein' a masked idiot like you before."

"Oh yeah, well-" Tom began, feeling snarky comment rise from his lungs, but was quickly cut off by Picsis.

"He's going to the Tide Speaker, and so am I. So if you'd leave us alone we could-"

"Oh? You're going to the Tide Speaker?" Po'kits smiled a sly smile, and he quickly placed his blaster back on his back. "Well I think i'll come along too, and i'll watch you "buddy" while you fix my blaster like you were suppose to…"

"Ha!" Picsis barked out a laugh. "Like you could make me-"

"I'll tell your ma."

Tom watched as Picsis form stiffened. Then, as if a switch had been flipped, she took a step back and motioned her arms to Po'kits. The creature himself smiled like he'd found the Chothica.

"Tom, meet Po'kits!" Picsis said, seething as she smiled. "Po'kits, this is Tom! Now let's get this over with!"

With that, their walk continued, now with an unwanted third member to their group. To be honest, Tom did felt betrayal at the quick one-eighty of Picsis's argument, but he sympathized with her plight. Having your parents be a call away must made everything difficult, no matter if you were a human or a creature.

As they continued, now even more creatures were looking at them, whispering amongst themselves and staring with wide, unblinking eyes. Some hid mirthful smirks, while other sent looks of pity.

It was only when they'd gotten to a moderately sized passages, buried in the wall of the cavern and away from prying eyes, did someone dare to speak.

"So _Tom_ ," Po'kits began, taking his spot next to Tom as they walked. Tom had to move in order not to bump into the furry jerk. "Who you workin' for?"

"What?" Tom asked, looking at Po'kits with a confused look.

"You heard me." Po'kits stated, before peering at Tom more closely. "...I bet you're an Overworlder, by how scrawny and weak you look."

"Overworlders aren't weak!" Tom snapped, turning his head to Po'kits. The creature's grin grew wider, and he leaned in closer. He thought Tom was a creature! And even if he was, he knew about twenty Overworlders that could kick this guy into next week!

"Oh yeah? Then why'd you get hurt so easily, huh?" Po'kits teased, clearly having fun getting Tom steamed. "You tribe creatures think you're all so strong, but when you're on your own you don't amount to nothin' !"

"Don't listen to him." Picsis quickly whispered into Tom's ear, sending Po'kits a glare herself. "He's just mad because nobody likes him."

"Oh, what was that?" Po'kits sneered, leaning over Tom to send Picsis a glare of equal disgust. "I don't think I could hear that, sense I don't speak-"

" _Po'kits_ , I do hope you have a reason to be bothering Picsis and her friend."

The trio quickly turned their gazes to see another creature, with crab like claws and hood so long it covered her entire face, shuffle towards them. She was dressed in deep purples and blues, and almost blended into the wall of it wasn't for the deep glow that escaped her cloak. Within one of her claws hands was a staff, which she used to shakily walk with.

"Because I strictly remember telling Mooro that I only needed one creature to deliver them." She continued, slowly making her way over. Tom found himself once again dragged as both Picsis and Po'kits rushed to meet her.

"Oh wonderful, magnificent Tide Speaker," Po'kits began, almost kneeling when he came up to her. His speech had done a complete one-eighty from before. "I merely came along because _Picsis_ neglected to fix my Blaster! We had agreed that she repair it while we waited for you to wipe this Overworlder's mind. So you need not worry yourself with our squabbles."

"Wait, wipe my _**what**_?!" Tom asked, instantly concerned by what Po'kits had said. "What do you mean wipe my mind?! How much are we talking about here?! I still need to find my scanner before you guys-"

"Tide Speaker, Po'kits's blaster wouldn't be in such a bad shape if he tuned it like Latula asked, so that we have more time to focus on the _actual_ damaged weapon!" Picsis quickly interrupted, practically gliding herself into the space that was in between Tom and Po'kits. She seemed to be trying to shield the poor boy from Po'kits soon to be realized wrath.

"Wait, scanner?" Po'kits turned to Tom, eyes wide with shock. "You're a human?!" He quickly looked down at Picsis, wide eyes filling with rage. " _You brought a_ _ **human**_ _into the Oasis?!_ "

"I wouldn't have brought him here if he hadn't been shot!" Picsis yelled, taking another step towards Po'kits, her hair starting to thrash wildly. "And who was it that was on border patrol last night, hm?"

"Are you implyin' what I think your implyin'-"

"Well I'm sure i'm not _not_ Implyin-"

"Why you little-"

"Come at me you-"

" _ **ENOUGH!"**_

The cavern floor shook, and Tom nearly fell over hadn't he'd gotten some steady footing in time. Sadly, both Picsis and Po'kits hadn't been as lucky, and the two toppled over in an embarrassed heap. The source of the yell, as well as a mini-earthquake, had come from no other then the Tide Speaker herself, and she quickly sat her staff down with a disappointed huff.

"Why must you two argue like children…" she muttered under her breath, shaking her head as the two creatures scrambled to get up. "Po'kits, leave your blaster here with Picsis, then leave us be. I am sure there is work that needs to be done without shooting something…"

"Understood." Po'kits said, quickly bowing before removing his blasted from his holster. He shot Picsis and Tom as look as he left, but said nothing more.

"Now that that's taken care of," the Tide Speaker turned away, shuffling back the way she came. "Come along you two, I would like to discuss something with the both of you…"

Picsis instantly began to make her way down the path, walking right beside the Tide Speaker, yet Tom didn't move an inch.

"I'm sorry, but If you're going to wipe my mind, i'm not taking another step until I have my scanner." Tom said, fearing what would happened if he followed.

The Tide Speaker stopped, slowly turning their head to face Tom. "I promise you, human, that I will do no such thing until you have your device. I am merely an old woman who wishes to chat is all. If you wish for answers for the questions you have, I simply suggest you follow us..."

* * *

Kaz rushed around Kiru city, looking for anything that would resemble Tom in the slightest. Now, you may be wondering why Kaz was in one of the major places that made him feel uneasy. Well, Tom hadn't been answering his scanner, not for Kaz or anyone. And normally that would have just been considered rude, not a warning bell, but when Kaz confronted Tom- real world Tom- about it, his friend had denied ever refusing to answer any calls. And of course Kaz believed him, knowing fully well that his childhood best friend wouldn't pull a cold shoulder on them just to get some rare scans.

People could be jerks, but Tom wasn't one of those guys.

Sure, sometimes a scan hog, but not a jerk.

So, currently, Kaz and the group had decided to split up to find exactly where Tom was, divide and conquer and all that.

Peyton, due to his extensive knowledge and friendship with a butt load of Mipedians, was tasked with searching the Mipedian jails, just in case he was arrested. Sarah, with the help of another Mipedian player she and Peyton knew, were searching the border, trying to figure out exactly Tom could have been wandering. So, sadly, that left Kaz at Kiru City, stuck looking for anyone that would have a basic idea where a Tom was. Perhaps Maxxor grabbed him for a secret mission (which was highly unlikely), or maybe he got roped into helping Bodal again (which was more likely, but Bodal always allowed Tom to have his scanner).

The only way Kaz would find out would be searching around for some clues, and after getting kicked out of Maxxor's place via royal guards, the second stop was rather obvious. Thankfully, there weren't any guards posted at the arsenal today. The only trick was getting inside, which wouldn't be too hard…

Kaz knocked on the door, looking around nervously. If any of the guards spotted him, they'd chase him again, and he'd have to waste time getting them off of his trail. Not that he didn't have the time, he just wanted to find Tom quick. He'd be wasting precious daylight, and he never really liked staying in Kiru City for long.

Thankfully, his prayers were answere when Okliex opened the door.

"Oh man Okliex, am I glad to see you! Quick, let me in before the guards make their rounds." Kaz said, trying to make his way into the arsenal, but was stopped by the four armed creature. "Hey, what's wrong? Why won't you let me in?"

"Sorry human, Bodal strictly said no humans allowed, not after your friend swiped that map." Okliex replied, giving kaz a sympathetic look. "He's been awfully steamed about it, seeing as it was a gift. Maybe if you get your friend to give it back, he'll-"

"That's the thing, we don't know where Tom is!" Kaz muttered, hearing footsteps approaching. "Listen, I don't have a lot of time to explain, but if you let me in, maybe I could get Bodal's map back once I found Tom! C'mon, doesn't that sound like a good deal?"

Okliex paused, thinking deeply about the matter. Kaz kept his eyes glued to the passage, watching as the shadows of ever familiar guards got smaller and smaller on the wall next to him. Just as Kaz was about to port out, he felt a furry hand grab him by the shoulder and pull him inside.

"Alright," Okliex said, letting go on Kaz as he made his way to the arsenal itself, he peered in, before giving a satisfied nod and slowly shutting the door. "Bodal's busy with his records, so he won't notice too much. What is the problem again?"

"Oh, uh, right." Kaz nodded, quickly straightening his posture and such as he got ready to brief the overworlder on the information. Bodal could be pretty speedy when he was doing inventory on his own. "So, long story short, Tom's been looking for Tribeless creatures to scan for his deck, and apparently he thought there were some in the Mipedian-Overworld border? Anyway, for a week everything was fine, but three days ago he went MIA! We got people looking over at the Mipedian desert and along the border, but…"

"You want to make sure he isn't stuck somewhere over here, right?"

"Yeah, you got it. So, maybe, if you could just keep an eye out for him, that'd be great!" Kaz said, feeling even more nervous than before. "Or ask around, or get Bodal to, seeing as he finds out a ton of secrets or something or just-"

"This is the same human that was with us when the Danians attacked, right?" Okliex asked, scratching his head.

"Yes! Of course it is! Tom's the only Human that ever hangs out in this place! You've probably talked to him countless times!"

"Then give him some time…" Okliex said, a smile on his face. He flipped his visor on as he turned to enter another room, most likely to finish welding whatever project he'd been working on. "He's a tough one, crafty too...We'll keep an eye out, but he's probably fine."

"...I hope so," Kaz sighed as he ported out. He'd stop by later to see if they'd seen anything...

Not minute later, Bodal peered out of his door way, looking around for the source of whatever noise he'd heard.

"Okliex, did you let someone in?"

"Only the Red haired Human!" Okliex called out, getting his welder started.

"I thought I told you, not more humans until Tom returns my Map! I swear he has such little care for other people's belongings! That map was a gift from Maxxor for all my hard work here at the arsenal, and he thinks he can-"

" Apparently Tom's gone missing, but I told him that he's probably fine."

Bodal stopped mid rant.

"...Okliex, could you repeat that? I think I've misheard you..."

* * *

Unsurprisingly, the Tide Speaker resided near a ton of tide pools. Some were huge, like the size of inflatables pools, while others were tiny, like your typical puddles. Yet they all led to a underground lake shore, with almost crystal clear water. With the calm glowing waters and the purple rocks; It was actually really, really pretty place. Scattered about here and there were floor cushions, mostly in pretty bad shape. Tom silently wondered if water attacks were boosted here...

"So let me get this straight," Tom said as he sat on the rather tattered floor cushion, his legs crossed and the tea in his hands steaming. "You ran away from the M'arrillians during the invasion, and created the Oasis as a place to hide, right? But when different Tribeless creatures started to find the place, you allowed them to take shelter during the war?"

"Yes," The Tide Speaker, on a mound of her own cushions with her own tea, nodded, taking a sip as she listened to Tom.

"Right, So then word got around that Tribeless creatures _could_ come here if they couldn't defend themselves, or needed shelter that wasn't going to lead to like, seventy-five percent chance of death. And you allowed them to stay because..."

"She's one of us!" Picsis piped up from her spot by the cavern wall, her tentacles busy fixing Po'kit's Pryoblaster to make it actually fire _fire_ and not _smoke_. "And she's a sweet lady."

"Ok, but when the war was over, other creatures started exploring the caverns you created. So the tribeless creatures that can still do warrior work like scout and patrol basically guard this place and bring any spies they have to you, and you just wipe their memories?" Tom asked, still a bit disturbed by that fact.

"Yes, we don't have the resources to keep prisoners, or the means to. Many Tribeless are use to getting rid of problems rather quickly, even if that means getting some blood on their hands…" The Tide Speaker sighed, lowering her head. "Yet I understand why. Many creatures here have children, young ones not yet ready to face the outside world yet. They want to keep them safe for as long as they can. And they're willing to do anything to protect them…"

Tom nodded, feeling a bit of sadness follow. Of course they'd resort to that, apparently the mentality between tribeless had been "it's you or me" for a while.

"But," The Tide Speaker continued, finishing her tea and setting it down on the sand. "Thankfully my ability is faster, and uses far less blood shed. I simply wipe their memory of the past few hours, and we send them on their way to a different part of Perim..."

"And that's what you'll do to me when you guys find my scanner, if i'm guessing correctly…" Tom replied bitterly, crossing his arms at the thought.

The Tide speaker drifted into silence, letting out a low hum for her response. Picsis seemed to slow down on their repair, their face saddening as they tightened a bolt with one of their tentacles.

"...Tom Majors, it may not seem fair, but it's to protect us." The Tide Speaker said, patting Tom's shoulder with her staff. "There are babies, sick creatures, and elderly creatures that all rely on the Oasis to grow up, heal, or peacefully move on. If the Oasis, even accidentally, get revealed, then it could spell doom for hundreds of creatures that live here."

"No, I...I understand. It's just…" Tom drifted off, sighing as his bitterness faded. "What happens if we don't find my Scanner? Am I just going to stay here forever, or will I eventually get kicked out? And then what? Am I just going to wake up with no memories of that night alone, no matter how long it was?"

"Leaving or staying will be your decision, if it must be made; but I imagine our scouts will find you scanner soon. But in the meantime, we'll have to assign you a job. What are your talents, young one?"

"My Talents?" Tom raises an eyebrow, crossing his arms. "Uh, well...I'm pretty ok at writing, but I don't really know how to write in creature...I used to work at the Overworld Arsenal, so I know a little bit about-"

"You worked at the Overworld Arsenal !?" Picsis yelled, eyes wide and she rushed over. Her smile was so wide that Tom could have sworn her face would split. "Why didn't you mention this?! Do you even know what this means?!"

"What?!"

"You can teach us all the cool stuff the Overworlders make!" She grabbed Tom by his good arm, yanking the poor boy up and swinging him over her shoulder like he was a sack of dractyl scales. "Oh man wait till Latula hears about this, he'll have a heart attack!"

"Hey, put me down!" Tom yelled, trying to get out of her hold. He looked at the Tide Speaker for assistance, but she simply stared. "Tide Speaker, help me out here!"

"...Picsis," The Tide speaker began, her face hidden by her hood, but the mirthful tone of her voice couldn't be masked. She was enjoying this, wasn't she. "Since you saved him, Tom will be staying with you and your family. Treat him with respect, alright."

"Yes Ma'am!" She nodded seriousy for a moment, but quickly grabbed the Pyro Blaster with her free hand and bolted, instantly talking about Battle gear with her captive audience. "Tom, do you know how long I've waited to talk about battle gear with someone else other than Latula? !It's been Solons! What's your favorite battle gear? Mines-"

And with that, the Tide Speaker listened as Picsis's, and eventually Tom's, voices became fainter and fainter, until all that could be heard from the hallway was the faint echos of water hitting the cavern floor. With a huff, the Tide Speaker slowly rose from her spot, and proceeded to make her way to the biggest Tide pool there was. She hummed a small tune, before tapping the pool with the end of her staff. Slowly, the pool transformed into something else, a transceiver of some kind, with another figure waiting on the other side.

" _Tide Speaker? Why did you call me, my groups is in the middle of scouting the underground for-"_

"I know, and I apologize, but I need you to send some of your troops to the Overworld. Not many, just a few..."

" _And why is that, if I may ask?_ " The figure questioned, peering deeper at their side of the transceiver.

"We've gained a new guest," She sighed, feeling the weight of the situation fall upon them. "A human who has ties to the Overworlder Arsenal. I need your scouts to find out how many people would notice his disappearance, and if any of them would threaten the security of the Oasis."

" _Understood. What is this Human's name?_ " The figure asked, already gather a small group to go topside.

"Tom Majors."

" _...Which is worse, the fact that I've heard of that name countless times, or that I already know who he's connected to?_ "

* * *

"To be honest, I prefer Torweggs over anything else." Tom replied as he and Picsis now walked towards the Tribeless Arsenal, having managed to get Picsis to set him down after warning her he'd pass out. The sun had started to set, and many of the creatures were getting ready for bed, turning off all the lights so they wouldn't be seen in the darkness. Others shifted deeper into the caverns, away from the fading sunlight. It wasn't too bad of a sight.

"I mean," Tom continued, eating some of the food Picsis managed to grab them on their way to the Arsenal. " No humans can really fly, so it's as close as i'll ever get to it, even though its only in the beta dromes..."

"Oh, right, for you chaotic battles." Picsis replied, her gaze focused on the ceiling of the cavern more so then anything. "Man, it must be so cool, having all that rare battle gear in the palm of your hands…"

"Yeah, but it's not as great as you're thinking. Not in Perim at least." He sighed, adjusting his cloak a bit more. "Like, sure we can used the scan in chaotic, but in Perim, they're just something on a device. We can't just summon them out of thin air…"

"Still! You got to see them, in the flesh! I'd kill just to get the chance to see some of those battle gear in action!" She smiled widely, holding the Pyroblaster out in front of her as she marveled at it. "Most of all, I've always wanted to drive a Mowercycle. When I saw Blaizer in the Pierthon, it looked so cool!"

"No way, you saw the Pierthon? But how?" Tom asked, curious as to how she saw it.

"Hey, just because I'm tribeless doesn't mean all of Perim knows it. When you're in a crowd of mixed creatures, all distracted by a race, no one really cares who or what you are." Her smile faded, growing fainter as she recalled the memory. "I was in a ton of trouble when my Mom found out, but I never regret sneaking out and going that day. The trickery, the tricks, the interactions! It was all so amazing...I still can't believe two humans one it, can you?"

"Actually, I still can't believe it, and I known them one of them for most of my life." Tom chuckled, shaking his head at the memory.

"No way!" Picsis exclaimed, and the line of questioning continued. Tom simply smirked at this, seeing as she'd joked about humans asking too many questions. But he let it slide.

Today had been a long day, and he'd sort of hoped that whoever this Latula person was, they'd be too busy to deal with them at the moment. He wanted to get some sleep, and he'd rather get it before it was morning…

But all and all, this wasn't too bad. Sure, he'd lost his scanner, but at least they hadn't thrown him in jail. And out of all the creatures he'd talked too, only one of them had been a complete jerkwad. So yeah, everything was pretty peachy. Maybe if he kept being nice, they'd finally realize he was a trustworthy person, and let him get some scans. Or at the very least, keep his memory...

"Shoot," Picsis said, snapping Tom out of his daze. He looked to where she was staring and noticed that a different creature seemed to be standing in their way to the arsenal. Correction, two creatures, seeing as the bigger one was holding what looked to be a baby. Actually, not that he got a better look at them, they looked an awful lot like…

Oh…

"Uh, Tom," Picsis voice wavered, going to a tone Tom knew all too well. "This is my Mother. Mother, meet our new guest….surprise~"

Picsis's Mother scowled.

Tom silently prayed that this wouldn't go bad too quickly...


	4. This might be bad

The walk to their home was in one of the most awkward silences Tom could have ever been apart of. After it had been clear that him and Picsis would not be meeting with Latula that night, and would in fact be making their way back to Picsis's home, Picsis seemed to instantly shut her mouth. Apparently her mom didn't really like Tom, and naturally that made him annoyed, but he'd grown use to it with the other creatures he'd been around. If she was nice, she'd realize that Tom was a nice guy and they'd get along. He could wait….

With the stars shining from their spot in the sky, they seemed to add a beautiful backdrop to the Oasis itself. Tom had already gotten in enough trouble from star gazing. No, by now, only the dull hush of night echoed around the Oasis, the calm whispers and snores and such. It was almost peaceful.

But the silence between everyone was starting to get on his nerves. Picking up his pace, he made his way to Picsis's mom, leaving Picsis behind them. If she wasn't going to introduce him, then he'd do it himself.

"Hi there, I'm Tom Majors." Tom threw on his friendliest smile and held his hand out, waiting for some sort of response. "I'm really grateful for your daughter saving me from drowning and all. And that you're cool with me staying with you guys."

But unlike Picsis, her mom didn't reach over to shake Tom's hand at all. No, she only glanced at him, before turning her gaze away. Tom simply allowed himself to fall behind, catching back up with his savior.

"Not to be rude, but is your mom always so cold?"

"No, she's actually pretty cool as far as mothers go," Picsis whispered, looking from Tom to her mother and back. She seemed nervous, but not frightened. "She just wary of outsiders, so give her some time to warm up to you. You both have a lot in common, being connected to the Overworld and-"

"Picsis, come up here for a moment."

"Shoot." Picsis cursed, giving Tom a sympathetic look while quickly following her mother's orders. Tom made a move to follow her, but was stopped by a quick glare from the only adult amongst them. So with that, he was left following from a good ten feet behind them, ear straining to hear whatever conversation they were having.

Yet, despite the hushed atmosphere of the Oasis, he couldn't hear anything from them. It took Tom a few moments to realize what was going on.

She had called Picsis up so that she wouldn't be walking next to him. She didn't want her kids near Tom, but why? It's not like he could hurt her, he was as harmless as an ant compared to some creatures. And if his memory was going to be wiped when he got his scanner, was there really anything she was worried about Tom knowing?

He'd been so distracted in his musings, that he hadn't noticed they'd arrive at Picsis's home until Picsis's mother held her hand up to keep Tom from entering. By then, she'd given the baby to Picsis, who was already inside. That just left Tom and her outside, with no one else in sight.

"Listen," She said, gazing down at Tom as most other creatures did humans. In the pale moonlight, Tom could see her aged face, the creases and scars that littered her arms and such. No doubt that she was a warrior, and that she'd seen some things in her lifetime. "There are some house rules you need to follow while living with my family. I'm only going to say these once, so listen carefully."

Tom quickly nodded, suddenly aware of how much taller she was compared to him. She could probably even give Maxxor a run for his money, just from his guessing alone. Her hair, far longer than her daughters, remained limp, but unbound. Remembering what her daughter could do made Tom all the more cautious, who knew when Picsis's Mom could just lift him up and chuck him across the Oasis.

"...good," She nodded crossing her arms as she listed them off. "First things first, you'll be sleeping in the room to the left. Under no circumstances are you allowed to enter any of the other rooms but that room. Understood?"

Tom nodded again, being vaguely reminded of Intress in the way this creature spoke. Maybe these two had met before? No, he reminded himself, not everyone in chaotic knew eachother.

"Second," she continued, "curfew is at sunset. Unless you and Picsis have a reason to be out later then that, then you need to be here before then. Failure to follow this would cause both of your to be grounded."

"Wait, grounded?!" Tom asked, now taking his turn to cross his arms. "No offense, but normally creatures use terms like "arrested" or something like that. And what if i'm out on my own? I don't need Picsis baby sitting me, i'm not a kid."

"...fair enough," She gave a firm nod, taking into mind Tom's thoughts. "The curfew still applies, no matter who you're with or without. Your…."arrestment duration",will be for the entirety of the next day and only increase in duration per day per failure to arrive on time."

"...Alright, that's fair." Tom said, mildly surprised he wasn't given the "i'm stronger than you, so you do as I say" talk. It was most newly met creatures tended to use...It was somewhat of a nice change." What else is there?"

And so two more rules were hashed out. No one ate midnight snacks, and if he ended up staying long enough for him to start doing chores, failure to complete those would result in getting "arrested" as well. But how did creatures even know about grounding?! Was it just another weird thing creatures and humans had in common?

Of all the lousy things to have in common…

"Are you coming in or not?"

Tom snapped out of his thoughts, catching Picsis's mother giving him a bit of an impatient look. He quickly nodded and walked inside, being followed in by his "gracious host".

Unlike Mooro's office, the Picsis hole-in-the-wall had a wooden plank for a door, and it was moved over in front of the doorway as soon as Tom entered. Slowly, candles and lanterns were lit, allowing Tom to see more of the place.

It wasn't bad, but it's wasn't a palace ether. There was a small wooden table with three stools near the left corner, and to the was a fireplace with a black pot, with something cooking inside. The walls were littered with scribbles here and there, almost like cave drawings. Past the first room was three smaller rooms, two with beaded covered and one simply blocked by a stone. From his spot, Tom could see hammocks set up in each, no doubt their beds.

Suddenly, an odd fruit was tossed his way. Nearly dropping it, he managed to save his fumbled fruit before it hit the floor. The culprit had been none other than Picsis's mother, she hid her smile as she took a bite from her own fruit. "Hopefully you're not allergic. This is all we're going to have for dinner tonight, and Mooro's probably fallen asleep by now.

"Oh! Gwabba fruit!" Picsis exclaimed, catching the next fruit to be tossed. Her hair seemed to quickly get to work with the fruit, peeling off the peel and such. "What's the occasion?"

"The stew won't be ready until tomorrow, that's the occasion." Picsis's mother stated, pulling another, smaller one out of her bag and making her way to the small table. It seemed that there was more to the story, but she firmly kept her mouth shut.

"You know, I've never really had these before." Tom said, following suit and sitting on the opposite side of the table. He mimicked how he saw Picsis do it, and the hard green and brown outing revealed a deep, navy blue inside.

"They're super good! Try it!" Picsis urged, already having finished half of her fruit. Every now and then, she'd break off a piece to give to her younger sibling. " And if you don't like it we can always give the rest to Quari here."

Tom looked back down at the fruit, before taking a small bite. He was hit with an extremely sweet flavor, it almost like a strawberry but not quite. He would go on to finish off two more Qwabba fruits before being scolded by Picsis's Mother, mostly because she'd have to get more for breakfast then.

A little later, when he was laying in the hammock they'd set up for him, he allowed his mind wander.

His friends had no idea where he was. By all means, the situation could have been worse, but it still made him feel uneasy. He couldn't contact Kaz or the others and tell them he was fine. They were probably looking for him right now. He didn't want to see them again only do their memories to get wiped!

And then there was him on earth, who probably had no idea why his scanner wasn't working. God, this was almost like Richie's situation.

"At least i'm not being kept in a cell…" Tom mused, shifting from his back to his uninjured side.

Still, what if they never found his scanner?

He could always live at the Overworld arsenal, if he could get out of here, but he'd never see his family again. He'd never talk for his mom or his grandma or his aunts and uncles. He'd miss out on holiday dinners and his cousins wedding, he'd never see his other friends back in his home town…

He'd be stuck in perim…

Forever…

Despite being extremely tired, Tom didn't sleep well that night.

* * *

The port court was never really empty, but you could tell it was late by Kaz's standards. During this time, most of the players from other parts of the globe, India and Australia and such, would be up and at it. He'd only been up this late around a few times, seeing as some countries gave out rarer scans earlier than other. He'd even made some good friends during these late night adventures.

But right now wasn't one of those times…

He looked up when he heard someone porting in, and felt his hopes rise as Peyton made his way over. He looked tired as well, no doubt from "sneaking" through the Mipedian desert. Kaz waited until Peyton took his seat, hoping that at the very least he'd have a clue.

"...So," Peyton began, motioning for a robot to come over and take his eventual order. "I'll take it that you didn't find Tom, right?"

"Yeah, Currently Maxxor's on a secret mission, and Bodal hadn't seen him since he snagged the map. No word from the Mipedians?"

"Nope, no humans were in the prisons, and none of the other players _I_ saw had seen Tom. But maybe Sarah had better luck?" Peyton smiled some what reassuringly, passing Kaz the menu and setting his scanner on the table. "Besides, I got some people posted here and there, they'll keep an eye out for him. Also, you've been running around Perim all day, try and eat something alright?"

"Nah, I'm good, Besides, Earth me's probably already had food. I'll be fine." Kaz smiled back, yet it was clearly meant to reassure and not reflect inner feelings. "Thanks though."

"Guys!"

The boys look up, catching Sarah by the portals. Yet just as quickly, she rushed over, carrying something battered and dusty on her back. As she got closer, it became more and more apparent on what it was.

"Tom's back pack!" Kaz exclaimed, almost leaping out of his chair to get to Sarah. "Sarah, where did you-"

"A _danian_ had it!" She began, setting it down and dumping out the contents. "When I turned up with nothing, I decided to see if Wamma could help! It had just turned out that another one of the Danian mandiblors had found this a few days ago!"

"Whoa! How'd you get it? Last time I checked, Danians don't exactly like to share, especially when a human wants what they got." Peyton added, having ran right behind Kaz to catch up."

"Well, with Wamma's recent promotion, he was able to pull some rank on the poor guy." Sarah smiled, before rummaging through the clutter. All they could see was sand, snack wrappers, and an empty water bottle…

"Wait, where's the map?" Peyton asked, having left the rummage pile and move back towards the book bag. "Tom showed off a wicked cool map he'd snagged from Botal, shouldn't it be here?"

"Maybe whoever has him has it." Sarah stated, her optimism having faded at the sight of the trash. "I tried going to where Wamma said the mandiblor found the bag, but it was complexly empty...the wind could have blown it away, or maybe it was covered in sand…"

"You don't think anyone stole him for the map, right?" Kaz asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nah, why would they keep him if they just wanted the map?" Sarah stated, but her look seemed unsure. "But, with him being Maxxor's favorite human… they could have seen him as a bargaining chip…"

"Hey, hey, hold it right there bros." Peyton quickly cut in, laying an arm over both Kaz's and Sarah's shoulders. "This is Major T were talkin' about here. He's probably fine! Just a little lost, but fine. I bet he'll be back by tomorrow at the latest, and we'll all be listening to him talk about whatever trouble he got into. Right guys?"

Both Kaz and Sarah wanted to now, wanted to agree nervously and say yes.

But the silence they gave, as well as the worried look they gave each other, spoke volumes.


	5. Working hard and Hardly working

A week had gone by.

A week had passed and no one had seen of heard of Tom. He'd missed every match he'd been assigned, five solid X's on his randomly generated schule. He hadn't ported out of Perim since the 3rd of this month, Crellan had checked every source he had. He even tried contacting Major via his scanner. But no one picked up…

Yet it still showed that he was in Perim...

When the game was first being made, the codemasters made a system to determine where a chaotic player was. Or well, where their scanner was. It was a simple algorithm, basically a small gps system for the Codemasters to use. It didn't tell the Codemasters exactly where they were, just in what realm.

While some player's icons showed them at earth, or in chaotic and such, Tom's still showed that he was in Perim. And if his scanner had been destroyed or damaged, it wouldn't have signaled back. So at the very least, Tom could get home once he was able to…

But still, it made Crellan uneasy. He knew the other Codemasters hadn't asked Tom or his friends to do another mission. And from how Kaz and the other were panicking, they had no clue where the Overworld player was. The same could be said of the Overworlders, since the last time he visited the Kiru city he'd heard the guards whispering about Bodal. Apparently he was a bit unnerved that his favorite employee had vanished, and had started asking around as well. Of course that was met with mostly indifference, seeing as no one really listened to Bodal…

Honestly, he himself should have stayed out of this.

Tom was probably fine, and in no way dead or anything. He was a capable kid with a sly wit and some quick reflexes, he'd be fine if he went awol for a bit.

But Crellan had spend so much time on him! Testing him as seeing what he could accomplish; he'd spend months of his time just seeing if Tom might really be the one to-

"Crellan, are you still waiting for your understudy to come back?" A smooth but clearly bored voice echoed from behind him. He knew that voice very well, seeing as it belonged to their second newest member of inner circle.

"Chirrul, perhaps you should mind your own business, please." Crellan himself sighed, leaning back on the office chair as a purple clad man came up and examined to screen. He noticed how the golden lenses of Chirrul's helmet squinted at the words, no doubt in scrutiny

"How about you practice what you preach and let the kid find his own way back."

Yes, good old Chirrul, always willing to call people out on their hypocrisy.

"If you came here to scold me, then you're wasting both my time and yours." He responded, spinning around and getting up. He checked the clock on the nearby wall, and noted then he had just enough time to grab some food before his next match.

"Easy, easy." Chirrul responded, holding hands up as he confronted his friend. "I'm just saying, let the kid handle himself. He's been through a lot, it's not like he'd be taken down so easily. You know the old Amzen didn't panic when the new Amzen got imprisoned in the underworld for four months. She said that he got himself into that mess, he could get himself out. And-"

"Chirrul, I was there. I was literally right there when she said it." Crellan said, turning to face his equal with a slightly annoyed look. "But Amzen knew where her successor was and what could happen, I don't. And Tom always seems to have a knack for finding things we've missed…"

" So do other players," Chirrul replied, seeming to grow more and more annoyed. "Stop trying to make up an excuse, you're worried about him! That's fine! Perfectly normal! But you can't waste your time looking for him when you have a job to do."

"I'm not-" Crellan began, but quickly stopped himself. The realization dawned on him that he, in fact, was wasting his time. He had a whole new area to explore, and he had put it off when news spread that Tom had vanished. He had new creature to scan and new battle gear to catalog before the other players found them...

"See, you know i'm right. Now get going, but keep your wits together. This Lu2 kid's got some surprises up her sleeve."

* * *

The sun shone high over the Oasis, sitting in the center of the cavern opening like the iris of an all seeing eye. The heat blasted in from the outside, making the even the coolest places seem hot and humid. Tribeless creatures, from elders to scouts to children, would pass by the window Tom was looking out of; busy with tasks. Having been in the Oasis for nearly a week now, he'd learned that it was like any other village or city he'd been too. You'd have your teachers, your workers, your warriors; the list went on and on. Yet he never saw any one lazing about, unless they were old...

Now normally, Tom would have taken this chance to do some important scanning, or at the very least explore. But sadly, Tom wasn't allowed to leave that room, not yet. Because apparently, the reason no one was seen lazing about was because everyone was given a job...

And after Mooro had given the ok for Tom to do small bouts of manual labor, he'd quickly been given his first job.

Laundry duty.

"Ugh, c'mon!" Tom yelled, trying to furiously scrub out a stain in some creature's tunic, his hands pruned from the soap bucket. "Why couldn't they have invented laundry machines already?! They can make hover cars and jet pack!"

Behind Tom, piles of cloths, both clean and dirty, laid in their respective baskets, all meant to go to other homes along his wall. The Oasis worked kind of like a weird hotel, with houses and workplaces carved into the walls. Apparently the rooms had been divided into sections, and each section had a creatures that would do the laundry. Originally, the job would go to whoever was the least busy in that row, which had been Picsis for a while...

But she quickly dumped the job onto Tom, seeing as Latula would "need" her at the Oasis Arsenal more often...

"Sorry Tom," she would say as she'd rush out the door, leaving Tom alone with her family and the piles of clothes, "but someone's gotta do it!"

And so, For what Tom could only assume was a couple of hours, he'd be left alone with Picsis's Mom. Well, that wasn't entirely true. He'd also be left alone with Picsis little sister, but it was clear by Cercana's terms that Tom was not to come anywhere near that kid.

Now that he thought about it, the only words she'd ever said to him were. "You sleep out here. Heres are some blankets. Don't eat all our rations."

Other then that she was silent. He knew she didn't trust him, that was fine, but man were those few hours awkward. Thankfully she'd leave around what Tom would assume was noon, taking the baby somewhere while she'd go on patrol duty.

Picsis though? She would talk for ages, about Battlegear and how some other Creature had ticked her off, she only drew the line when it came to her life before the Oasis. Basically, she was almost like a nicer, rapid-fire version of Bodal. The only difference is that when she asked him a question, she basically encouraged him to answer back with the same about of detail.

And sometimes he just didn't have all the answers.

"So you're telling me you have no idea how you can teleport with your scanners?! You just accept it!?"

"Yeah, no one's really willing to bust one up to see how they work, seeing as it's your only ticket to and from chaotic."

"Ugh! That's so annoying!"

Yeah, most conversations about scanners and Chaotic went like that. But who could blame her, if you were told of a cool place where you could use

any battle gear you've seen, but you could never go, you'd probably be mad too…

He still didn't like that she left him to do all her chores though.

Tossing the forever stained Tunic into the clean cloths basket, Tom reached over into the basket to his left to grab whatever dirty rag he'd find next. It surprised him that he found his old shirt, stitched up and all...

He examined the grey shirt in the sunlight, his fingers grazing over the stitching, as if it would tell him some hidden secret. Minus the few minor tears it had here and there, the most major one had been where his right shoulder was, whatever fabric that hadn't been snipped away had been hardened by the blaster shot.

He looked deeper into the clothes basket, where he spot his long sleeve undershirt and his pants, both in an equal condition as his shirt; tattered but still kept for whatever reason. Tom quickly decided to set those out of the way, seeing as they belonged to him already. He'd probably stash them somewhere until he could wear them again. Not that the cloak and short combo was bad, but he missed the feeling of actual cloths. But who patched up his clothes?

Suddenly, Tom's train of thought was cut off the a ball, made out of stitched leather, came whizzing through the stone window, landing in the soapy water with a satisfying splash. Tom cursed as he tried to get out of the splash zone, but was too late. The ball floated lazily in the soap bucket, and Tom recognized it's football like shape. Someone was playing a game.

From outside, he could hear three small voices yelling and whining, no doubt at the creature that threw the ball through the window. Shaking his head, he picked up the ball and peered out the window. Down by the Oasis, three young creatures stared at Tom with wide eyes, each pointing at each other in almost a perfect triangle.

"This your ball?" He asked loudly, even though he knew it was true.

The smallest creature, with ram like horns and wild hair, carefully nodded.

Tom smiled as he reeled back his arm, and tossed the ball towards them. It wasn't a good spiral, but it was enough to get it in the right direction. The three kids smiled widely as the smallest one caught the ball, and proceeded to return to their game. But not before yelling a "Thanks" in Tom's direction.

With that, Tom allowed himself a moment to look around the Oasis and the cavern walls. It still amazed him to see all sorts of creature, just talking and getting along like normal. Even with the tribal alliance going on, not all creatures were this relaxed with others. But then again, there were always exceptions…

Still, this peacefulness, this lull in the day, made him feel kind of hopeful for the future of perim. If all of the tribe could get along, maybe of these creatures wouldn't have been tribeless in the first place…

"Tom! Guess who got off of work early!"

Turning his head, Tom spotted Picsis rushing down the pathway, carrying what looked like some sort of fruit with her. Behind her was a tall Mipedian like creature, his arms full of battlegear parts.

"I'm guessing you and Latula?" Tom smirked, watching as the duo made their way into the room from the opened doorway. Ducking his head back inside, he watched as Picsis set the fruit on the table and while Latula pushed the dirty cloth bucket away with his tail, and gentle laid the parts on the floor like they were precious gems.

"Uh, Picsis?" Tom leaned closer to the green skinned creature, watching with confused amusement as Latula sorted the parts out and such. "Why's your boss here anyway?"

"You'll see." Picsis smirked, wiping her grease stained hands on her skirt, earning an annoyed look from Tom.

"Alright Boy, Listen up!" Latula, with his scraggly sounding voice and joyful smirk, quickly sat cross legged, pulling out a small portable tool kit and adjusting his goggles. "From this moment onwards, we won't be wasting your mind on dirty clothes anymore! My apprentice and I will be teaching you how to take apart and put together Battlegear!"

If Tom ever had one word to describe this guy, it would be eccentric. He wasn't the craziest creature, not by a long shot, but he was pretty obsessed with battlegear. As a matter of fact, he'd practically been over the moon when he heard about Tom, and even more disappointed when he'd been kept from meeting him. And while Picsis seemed to keep her life story under wraps, Latula was all open.

Apparently being a sixth generation Tribeless was something he was proud about, and almost bragged about it like one would a scar. He also was just as machine crazy as Picsis was, and was in fact _very_ disappointed when he found out Tom had never really fixed any Battlegear. He was even more disappointed when Tom wouldn't spill any Overworld Arsenal secrets.

"But who's going to do the laundry? Last time I didn't finish on time I had like, five old ladies give me the stink eye." Tom said, taking a bite of an odd fruit, the blue staining his lips, but all and all the taste was welcome. "Besides, don't you have a partner who would want to see you or something?"

"Picsis offered to finish up the laundry while I teach," Latula stated proudly, before picking up two pieces and examining them. "And my lovely Lakitoa's busy on a patrol at the western tunnels. He won't be back until sunset."

"Just fix the gun Tom!" Picsis exclaimed, pulling up a stool and undoing her hair. Just as quickly, her arms morphed into tentacles, and she started to wash the cloths far faster than Tom ever had. It still kind of creeped him out, but all and all it was far more efficient than just using two hands.

"Alright, alright. I'm coming, just let me eat my lunch first." Tom shook his head a smiled, finishing up his fruit and wiping his hands on a dirty shirt, earning a look from Picsis. "So, what do I do first?"

* * *

Cercana did not like having this stranger in her home.

She did not like having someone who she had no idea about, someone who could disappear in an instant and blow their cover instantly. She did not like having him sleep in her living room, and she did not like having him near his children.

She didn't have anything against him personally, if anything shit pitied him. He seemed nice, treating the tribeless creature with much more respect than other creatures would. She even caught him helping some of them, whether it was carrying some extra items or delivering messages around the Oasis. He even looked to be around Picsis's age, and probably had a mother that missed him as well. This boy probably had friends and family who were wondering where he was. But that meant they were looking for him. And if she knew one thing about family, it meant they wouldn't stop looking for him until they found him.

So, in all reality, she wasn't being distant because she hated him. She was just scared of what he could do to her home. Of what he could do to her family...

And she knew it would only be a matter of time before they found his scanner and got him out of her. So why get attached when he'd just leave?

Cercana gently broke the surface of the water, having once again come back empty handed from the depths of the underground river.

"You find anything yet?" Her fellow patroller asked, adjusting his Pyroblaster as he gazed down the tunnel. He could only see how far the lantern light allowed him, but his feeling for the earth around them more then covered for that weakness. Yes, Lakitoa's life, living in Mt. Pillar, prepared him for living in caverns of the Oasis far better then he would have known.

Life was awfully funny like that.

"No, Lakitoa, I haven't found the human's stupid block yet." Cercana muttered, pulling herself onto the path and out of the water. Her limbs morphed into ones more suitable for land, and she felt air enter her lungs and water leave them, gills sealing back up and such.

"You don't think the current took it out to the ocean, do you?" Lakitoa asked uneasily, his gaze at the darkness ahead of them. " Because if that's the case, it looks like you've adopted a hu-"

"Don't even finish that sentence." She muttered, getting up and grabbing her liquidizer from the cavern floor. "And besides, this river doesn't lead to the Ocean."

"Wait, then where does it-"

"The Danian Resuivor."

Cercana smirked at Lakitoa's instantaneous silence, glad she could jar the recently tribeless creature. "But that's only if it didn't get wedged on a rock or something. Besides, with the way Latula babbles about the boy, I figured the two of you would adopt him."

"Hey now, let's take things slowly, alright." Lakitoa quickly chittered, holding up two of his hands for emphasis. "I'm still new to all of this. Besides, it'd be awkward to adopt the kid I accidently shot…"

"Oh c'mon, he doesn't even know it was you! He hasn't even met you yet!" Cercana started, punching the ex-mandiblor on his shoulder. "I bet he'd love you once he met you. He seems like a nice kid."

"Oh yeah, then why are you giving him the silent treatment, huh?" Lakitoa smirked, making his way back the way they came They'd gone as far as their patrol route was, it was about time to start heading back. "If you'd stopped being so distant, you'd probably like him too. Or are you scared you're daughter is going to-"

"Easy now, just because you're Latula's partner doesn't mean you can say whatever you want." She replied, holding her Liquidizer far closer to Lakitoa then he liked.

"All I'm saying is that you shouldn't treat the kid so coldly." He chuckled, pointing the liquidizer away from him. "I mean, from what I've heard, a lot of creatures trust him. He can't be that bad of a kid. For Cothica's sake, he's been tasked with a lot more than just "cleaning the arsenal"

"That's the thing, you don't just "help out" at the Overworld Arsenal. You have friends. You have people who care about you, people who trust you enough to let you stay and help out there…." Cercana sighed, looking towards the river and its path. She'd knew that these small rivers went way farther than the Mipedian-Overworld border. They stretched for miles and miles, some even dipping into the underworld and Mt. Pillar. It was already hard enought to keep their home hidden, but with Tom around…

"They'll be looking for him, and it'll only be a matter of time until they find him…"

The rest of the patrol went by in silence, neither wanting to acknowledge the facts. Distracted by their thoughts, they seemed to fail to notice the blue scanner, floating lazily down the river.

* * *

Hitali smiled widely as he felt the hot breeze of the desert air blow by him. Ah yes, The Mipedian oasis was one of his favorite places to sell his wares. Wrapped up in cloths that covered his entire frame, no one would dare to bother an old man selling odd items. Here, his cold blood was warmed, the creatures seemed to dance through their day, and for a while all seemed right.

"What's ya go there, old man?"

Hitali didn't look up, he didn't have to. He recognized the voice as a guardsmen who'd ran this beat often. He was rather fresh and naive, but Hitali had seen him help vendors with assembling their tents and such. He wouldn't start any trouble, he's just curious.

"Oh, little artifacts from here and there, things i've acquired from others or found. Why do you ask, is there anything that interests you?" Hitali asked with calm tone. He'd already made his quota for the day, he could afford to lose a customer or two.

"Uh...maybe. You, uh…" The guardsmen lowered himself, examining the wares with false interest. "Come across one of them scanners or somethin'?"

"A scanner? What an odd request? Surely the royal family doesn't-"

"It's not for them." He cuts Hitali off quickly, curtly, making it clear that he doesn't want the creatures around them to hear. His tail moves carefully behind, flicking nervously. "This is a bit of a "personal" manner, for a friend of mine…"

"Does it belong to your "friend"?" He asks, wondering if perhaps a human managed to lose theirs. They always held on to those things so tightly…

"Depend if you have it or not."

The silence that settled between them was less tense than it could have been. The guardsmen looked up, trying to judge Hitali anyway he could, and vice versa.

Finally, Hitali let out a sigh.

"Well,I'm sorry to say this, but a scanner is quite a rare item to obtain. I haven't had the fortune to come across one."

"Figures…" The guardsmen stood once more, setting the crystal back in its spot. He looked to the left, examining his route once more. His tail had stopped flitting, instead opting to wave lazily. "If you do find one though, I suggest you find me. I can make it worth your while…"

"My friend, i'm afraid i don't have awhile left in this world," Hitali chuckled dryly, the smile hidden by his robes. "But I will be sure to come here if I do find one. Good day."

And with that, everything returned to normal at the Oasis. People talked, bartered, collected water for their families and such; it was easy how it all seemed to fall into place…

Still, a human missing it's scanner would be interesting. But at least they were with someone who seemed to care. The Mipedians were good at hiding information, so the human wouldn't be in too much danger. Still, it seemed to make him shake his head and hold back a laugh.

A human stuck in Perim, that'd lead up to all sorts of trouble. He's lucky the poor thing didn't end up at _his_ Oasis. Who knows what would happen then…


	6. Learning

He'd been living with Picsis for two weeks when he saw his first fight. It was towards the middle of the day, with a scorching heat bearing down from the sky...

The hot, dry air barely made a breeze as it entered and exited from the "window", the temperature unwavering as it left the sun's light and entered the darkness of Cercana's home. And sadly, from his spot, Tom was stuck with the brunt of it, while his "mentor" was busy talking about what wiring to use to fix someone cheap blaster. He'd just hit the two week mark on his stay in the Oasis, and being all cooped up was starting to get on his nerves. Or, rather, the lack of being alone was…

If he wasn't in the home alone, Picsis or Latula would normally be right there by his side. And even then, he'd only been allowed to go to three places. The oasis, the tide speaker's place, or Mooro's; and even then, that was when there weren't any tribeless creatures around…

But what stung the most was when Cercana, Picsis's mother, refused to interact with him at time. Other the a warning stare he'd get from her, she showed practically no emotion to him. He also refused to let him anywhere near her other kid, enough that she even refused to leave her in the same room as Picsis and him, unless she was there of course. He knew he was a stranger but, c'mon, like he'd ever hurt a kid!

"-And that's why the green wire would be better suited to fix this blaster." Latula concluded, just as Tom returned his attention back to the conversation. "Although the blue ones may be better, we have more green wires, so we save the blue wires for blaster that defend the oasis, not one that go out on patrols… Plus the creature who owns this weapon hasn't been taking care of it, which is a shame really, with the right tuning we could fix this into something decent and-"

"Latula, forgive me, but it's too hot to bother with battlegear." Picsis cut her teacher off with a groan, practically melting in her chair. "Or anything else for that matter…"

"Does it always get this hot down here?" Tom asked, wiping the sweat of his brow and turning away from the window. The shade offered little comfort when compared to the sun.

"Honestly I have no idea what you two are going on about! The weather has almost been as marvelous as my times on the dunes! All warm and dry, it keeps my scaled glistening and my wits sharp!" As if to prove his point, Latula smiled a sly grin and got up. Moving to enjoy the sun's rays, he sat in the chair next to Tom and relaxed. His scales, in their golden shade, reflected the light almost like a disco ball. The room was bathed in a somewhat sparkly yellow hue, much to Picsis annoyance.

"Yeah, but not all of us like it hot," Tom replied, trying to shield his eyes from his new mentor's sparkling scales. "Man, there's gotta be a way to cool down…"

"Honestly, you two should enjoy the warmth while it's here! Desert nights get awfully cold, and-"

"There's the rivers!" Picsis quickly exclaimed, a light shining in her eyes. "Usually the currents are too tough for others. But where the water root grows, the currents barely move!"

"But won't they get suspicious? I thought i wasn't suppose to leave the oasis or whatever?" Tom questioned, but none the less allowing himself to enjoy the idea. He'd kill for a dip in the river, or even in a puddle.

"Are you two even listening to me?" Latula asked, to no one's response.

"Not if we're careful!" Picsis quickly added, already rushing over to grab some baskets. "Besides, Mooro's been needing more supplies anyway! We'll just be taking an extra long time to get them."

"Well what are we waiting for! Let's grab some baskets and go!"

"Now hold on!" Latula called out, but it was all in vain. Tom and Picsis had already darted out of the room and onto the pathway, making a beeline to the clinic. Weaving through the creatures that laid in their path, the almost missed the sight of the growing crowd by the Oasis.

Almost.

"YOU DARN WELL KNOW THAT CLOAK WAS MINE, KURGO!"

Tom stopped instantly, turning his gaze towards the center of the town. His gaze fell to the center of the crowd, where two creatures seemed to be circling each other. A fight was about to break out, obviously.

One of the creatures, similar to a snake in build, seemed to already have his blaster out, aiming at his slander. His tail flickering wildly, sand color cloak fluttering in what little breeze there was.

The other creature, a rather battle scarred rock creature, pounded his fists together, pointing at his opponent and continuing his call out. It seemed like he didn't need a blaster at all.

"This list the last time you take what's mine, you hear me! You little thief!" Yet he made no move to attack his opponent, perhaps waiting for the "thief" to get scared. "Chaotica knows that you've already let those sticky fingers of your get you four strikes! One more and you'll be out on your own."

"You don't know nothin' about me, old man! I got this cloak fair 'n square!" "Krugo" yelled loudly, before tossing his blaster to the crowd and slithering closer. "But you're welcome to rip it from my cold, dead, claws!"

And just like that, the fight was on.

Tom watched as Kurgo and the old man charged at each other. Despite being faster, Krugo was having some trouble getting a damaging hit on the elder. Likewise, the elder was having a hard time even landing a hit on the speedy rouge. An interesting match up, to say the least. But what was more interesting was that neither were using elemental attacks, they were simply using melee.

"Hey so I got the baskets." Picsis replied, shuffling over with two under each arm. "C'mon, we need to get going before Latula decides to- oh hey a fight! What did Kurgo do this time?"

"You know him?" Tom asked, not even sparing Picsis a glance. He wanted to see who'd win, and from the looks of it, it seemed rather close. Far closer than it should have been.

"Yeah, Kurgo's a pretty good spy, when he wants to be. He's kind of a jerk though." Picsis replied, flipping the basket over on its lid and taking a seat. She did one for Tom, who quickly sat as well. "Look's like he made one of the shop keepers mad again…"

It would be a few more minutes of brawling before one of them spoke again. By then, the crowd had seemed to grown bored and started to disbursed, with the exception of a few creatures still waiting.

"Shouldn't we stop them?" Tom questioned, watching as the old shop keeper picked Krugo up and tossed him a few feet away. He was excited, sure, but this was a square, not a battlefield...

"Not unless they break the rules."

By now Krugo had gotten the upper hand once more, and tripped the shopkeeper before pouncing upon him once more.

"Rules? Do fights like this happen alot?"

"It depends on the creature, honestly…" Picsis sighed, eyes glued to the fight below. Her arms rested on her bent knees, and she winced when Kurgo was clocked in the head. "Originally fighting was prohibited, but scuffles broke out anyway. The Tidespeaker and a few others decided that it would be best to let people run their steam rather than waste resources and energy keeping people from it."

"So i'm guessing that's why he flung his battle gear to the side," Tom replied, turning his gaze back to the now finished fight. The shopkeeper seemed to have emerged victorious, ripping the cloak off of Kurgo and folding it neatly before shuffling off. Krugo himself seemed to remain knocked out, with no one else coming to his aid at first. "...So was that it?"

"Yep." Picsis quickly rose to her feet, placing the basket in her arms and making her way back to the square. She didn't even seem fazed at all. "C'mon, we better go check on him. Worse comes to worse, we might have to taking him up to Mooro's-"

"We? But he's like, twice the size of us!" Tom began, but was quickly cut off by Picsis giving him a look. Yet it only took him a second to begin where he left off. "It's not like that, I just mean it's going to be hard for us to move him. ISn't there anyone else that can help?"

Tom turned his gaze, catching a few other tribeless creatures now gathering around Kurgo.

"See, look, they're helping him up!"

"...No, no they're not," Picsis replied back, quickly dropping the baskets and opting to jump down from floor to floor instead. "Hey! Stop that right now! You know looting a creature when their down is against the rules! C'mon!"

At those word, Tom bolted to catch up. Seeing as he couldn't jump down the ledges, he took to trying to slide down them. Which, of course was a horribly miscalculated idea. Once his foot was snagged under a stray ledge, he went tumbling towards the Oasis, rolling in with enough speed to splash into the water.

Instantly, the gathering crowd of creatures bolted into different directions, each carrying something of possible value. Picsis only managed to shoo the rest away before anything more could be taken. By then, thankfully, Tom had crawled his way out of the water and make his soggy way over.

"C'mon, don't just stand there. Grab his other arm." Picsis called out, already having her hands wrapped around Kurgo's left. "If we don't hurry, they'll take everything till he's got nothing…"

Sadly, the rest of the day was spent dragging Krugo up the many floors of the Oasis, only for him to wake up halfway through the climb and slither off to steal his stuff back. Picsis didn't even seem peeved, she just simply shrugged and said that they'd just have to go to the river later.

Yet, two sols later, Tom woke up to find two sand cloaks and a basket of rare fruit left on their kitchen table. Picsis beaming smile seemed to confirm his original suspicion.

"Told you so," She replied cheekily, twirling in her new cloak as Tom just stared. "C'mon, try yours on!"

He figured out later on that most creatures, having spent so many years on their own, were still getting use to the idea of a community. Naturally, some of these creatures were having a harder time than others. And even more naturally, some were just too prideful to thank others directly…

He did enjoy the cloak though.

* * *

Another thing Tom learned about the tribeless was that, until recently, it was rare for one to have kids. But given the fact that the Oasis was safe and decently stocked with food, water, and shelter; the nomads had experienced a rather decent growth in the children aspect. Thus, meant babies. And thus, meant people who had to watch said babies.

And thus, Tom was given another job.

Assistant babysitter.

"You've gotta be kidding me..."

"Stop complaining." Cercana's steely voice cut through Tom's annoyance like a knife. By now, she'd gotten use to talking to Tom, but never seemed to smile when she did. "You won't be alone when you watch her."

"That's the thing! You don't even trust me enough to let me watch your kid alone! Why not give me another job or something? Or better yet, a break?" Tom complained, for emphasis, even reaching our for Quari, who laid in Cercana's arms sleepily. He gave her an "I-told-you-so" look when she instinctively pulled away. "See?"

"Listen, you either earn your keep or your kicked out. We don't have enough room to take care of slackers." Cercana stated, before pushing Tom into the new room. "Besides, after that stunt you and Picsis pulled a few days ago, you're lucky I haven't made you clean the whole Oasis with a rag. You could have been swept down stream and landed in the danian reservoir. Or worse..."

The inside of the room was rather similar to Cercana's home, but there were noticeable differences in the decoration. Tom instantly recognized some of the tools scattered about, and connected the dots rather quickly. This was Latula's home.

"Hello? Is someone there?" a voice, hesitant and definitely not Latula's, called out. "Gimmie a second, I was just-"

"Lakitoa, It's me." Cercana stated, leaving Tom in the living room and moving deeper into the home. Her vines seemed to brush against everything she past, only lingering on them a second more than gravity would normally allow. It was almost as if she was feeling the walls and furniture and such…

"Cercana? What's up? Do you need me for the patrol again?" A danian, a mandiblor from the look of his coloring and build, peeked out from the eastern doorway. His amber eyes blinked a few times at his new house guest, before landing not only on Cercana, but Tom as well. He scowled. "Oh, oh no. Cercana I can't i gotta-"

"No, you can." Cercana stated more firmly, gently placing a now sleeping Quari in her friend's arms. "You're the only one I trust who's free right now. I just need you to watch them until Latula and Picsis get back."

"And when's that?!" Lakitoa asked, but was never answered as Cercana made her way out of the home and onto the street. She didn't even spare Tom a parting glance, and that seemed to grind his gears even more.

But it couldn't be helped. He'd just have to prove her that he was worth some respect. One way or another…

"Uh, so...Tom, right?"

Tom turned his gaze away from the front door and back towards Lakitoa, noticing how the Danian didn't seemed frightened, but wasn't as warm as his partner with greetings. "Been hearing a lot of things about you."

"Yeah, same to you too." Tom retorted, trying to break the awkward tension building. "But it's mostly been good things…"

There was a pause as Lakitoa squinted, trying to read Tom's face to see if he was teasing or lying. His grip on Quari seemed to tighten ever so slightly, but relaxed after a few moments...

"...really?"

"Well, yeah. Your biggest fan seems to be your boyfriend. When he's not talking about some past adventure or battlegear, he telling us how cool you are." Tom replied with a smile, shuffling over to a nearby chair and taking a seat. He noticed how some of the furniture was shaped differently, no doubt to fit different builds and body shapes. "But Picsis seems to think you're cool too."

"Oh Chotica, of course they do." Rolling his eyes and relaxing, he took a seat in a chair not to far away, sitting far more gently due to the now sleeping bundle in his arms. "Well, from what i can tell, i've heard only good things about you too."

"Not good enough to be left on my own, I guess…"

Another pause, filled with more silence between them. After a few moments of scrambling to come up with more small talk topics, Tom opened his mouth to speak but was beaten to the cut by Lakitoa.

"So, uh….how's your shoulder patching up?" He asked, a bit more cautiously than before. "Heard you were lucky, seeing as it was kind of touch and go and such."

"It's fine. It still kind of aches and stuff, but once I get my scanner back, it'll be like it never happened." Tom replied, rolling his shoulder for emphasis. Yet he couldn't hide the wince that came from tugging the still healing mussels.

Again, more silence.

"So, uh...Got anything to do? From the way Cercana made it out to be, I thought i'd have to help you watch kids and stuff…" Tom began, looking around the home once more. True enough, there wasn't anyone else inside, merely the three of them. "But it's only us in here…"

"Everyone else said they'd found someone else to take care of their kids, thankfully." Lakitoa replied with a sigh rising from his seat and making his way over. "I honestly didn't have the time to watch that many kids anyway. Here, hold her."

"Wait what-" Before Tom could protest, the now sleeping Quari was placed in his unexpecting arms, eyes shut and mind unaware. It took him a few seconds of fumbling to get a good grip, but thankfully he managed to keep her from waking up. "Hold on, aren't you supposed to-"

"Tom, I have three different batches of mugic that need to be stirred, cooled, and separated before the vats go stale." He replied hastily, already scuttling to the room he exited earlier. By now, a small stream of different colored smoke had started to waft from the room, as well as an odd stench. "You're getting the easy job right now."

"Wait, you're a-But what if- Hold on!" Yet it was too late, by then Lakitoa had escaped to the other room, leaving Tom alone. Letting out a sigh, he gazed down as the creature he held. "Guess this beats doing laundry…"

Now that he was actually allowed a good look at Quari, he noticed the similarities and differences she seemed to have. Like her mom and sister she had green skin with odd appendages for hair and such, and her skin seems more amphibious than anything. Even with her being a baby, they were almost half her height. But they seemed to have some sort of weird markings towards the ends, changing color to a deep navy blue. She didn't seem to have any hands ether, just little tentacles. She also seemed to have some magenta like markings around her face, dashes here and there…

"Wonder who you got that from…" Tom mused quietly, a bit puzzled by the display. The coloration almost reminded him of some of the M'arillians, seeing as they typically had a flair for bioluminescence and clashing colors. Yet that would make Picsis and Cercana M'arillians too, which was impossible, seeing how Picsis always like to speak about the places she and her mom had lived at before…

But maybe…

"...Not like it matters anyway," Tom answered himself with a shrug, turning his gaze away to the room, and eventually the window nearby. "Seeing that everyone here doesn't really care about what tribe you came from. They ether care about themselves and the few they friends they have…"

He paused for a second, a smile gracing his face.

"Guess us chaotic players have a lot more in common with you guys than anyone else, huh."

His statement was met with a sleepy yawn, and the bundle in his arms shift and squirmed for a moment before resting again. With the heat, and the lull of the afternoon air, Tom soon found himself fighting to stay awake as well. With his eyes becoming harder and harder to keep open, he eventually gave up and decided that, if the kid woke up, she'd cry and wake him up as well…

...

His dreams seemed to be as fluid and incomprehensible as ever, shifting from focus to focus. At first he was home, then he wasn't, then he was in Kiru city, but at the same time, he wasn't.

All the while, he was alone. The house was empty, the streets of Kiru city were barren. Each doorway he went through, each street corner he turned, seemed to change from location to location. Yet they were all void of people...

He knew he was looking for something, probably his scanner, but he couldn't find it anywhere. Each place he ended up, he felt like it just, wasn't where he was suppose to be…

Finally, after making a left turn at Gothos tower, he ended up at a place he least expected.

He was back at the Oasis.

He wasn't alone.

All around him, various creatures he'd seen in the Oasis were around him, but ignored him as they went on their day to day business. Yet out of all of these creatures, a lone figure seemed stand out.

The figure, dressed in a dark grey cloak, kept his back to Tom, his gaze focused on the water ahead. Even as Tom called out, making his way over, the figure simply kept his gaze ahead.

"...can no one hear me?" Tom asked, more to himself than to anyone else.

" _They miss you, you know..."_ The figure asked Tom, voice old and raspy and barely above a whisper.

"What?" Tom asked, because he almost didn't hear the figure speak.

But the figure didn't say anything more, he simply started to turn to face him. Face covered with a shaggy beard and thick, bushy hair, Tom almost didn't recognize the old man. Yet it was his eyes that told Tom who he was…

It was Himself.

…

"Gah!"

Tom's eyes snapped open, and he jerked away from the chair in a panic. In his scuffle, he tripped over his own legs and landed onto the floor, arms tangled up in himself. Still reeling from the dream, it took him a few moments to recognize that there was laughter in the air.

Looking to his left, he saw a rather giggling Quari watching him, sitting in what seemed to be a crudely made cribe. Reaching out for Tom, she seemed more to chirp and chitter then babble, like most babies did.

"Goodness, are you alright?"

Tom turned to his right, catching Latula standing over him, two bowls of stew in his hands.

"You look like you've seen a ghost!" Latula added, cocking his head to the side as his newest student arose from the floor. When Tom had dusted himself off and such, he handed the human one of the bowls before moving over to the patch work crib and taking his seat.

"Nah, I'm fine, just had a bad dream is all. Did you cook this?" Tom, trying to recover from the embarrassment of stumbling out of a chair, returned to his and took a seat. The stew itself smelled delicious, which chunks of meat and vegetables Tom still had yet to learn the names of. "It smells great!"

"Oh no, if I'd made this, you'd be saying something completely different. Lakitoa simply got it started before he dashed out. He didn't want to leave you two without any food…" Latula's signature smile started to fade after that, and he let out a sigh. "Honestly, he's been working himself to the bone these past few days. I wish he'd simmer down for at least a few moments."

"It seems like him and Cercana have the same work ethic. She's always going on about how everyone here needs to earn their keep and such." Tom added between mouthfuls of stew, rolling his eyes at Cercana's name. " I mean, you work hard, but that's just because you really, really love battlegear, right?"

"Oh but of course! Yet my darling Lakitoa's been running himself ragged these past few solons...and Cercana, well, she's just working hard so Picsis and Quari have a stable place to grow up, really." Latula voice seemed to simmer down at that, turning his gaze the Quari and helped feed the small creature. Quair herself seemed to be impatiently waiting for her meal, slapping her kind of hands onto the crib with vigor. "You see, until the Oasis was founded, it was rather hard for Tribeless to raise children. Many opted to simply not have them, or ones that did would try to wiggle their way into other tribes. Safety and number and such...But, well, for most tribeless, that wasn't an option. But the Oasis is, it's a place where creatures who can't defend themselves can learn how to. Sure, it's not completely safe, but the settlement's been established for only so many solons... Cercana's just trying her hardest to keep this safe haven, well, safe. And she views it from everyone working hard…"

Another pause emerge between them, the silence only broken by Quari's chirps and the sound of spoons scraping bowls.

"And I guess Lakitoa wants the same thing too?" Tom asked, more rhetorically than anything. Yet, of course, he got an answer nonetheless.

"Well yes of course, but, well...he's still rather new to all of this." Latula explained, turning his gaze back to Tom with a smile. "Yet it's not my place to tell you his story. More so, how about I tell you about the time I snuck into to the underworld and stole some a valric shards!"

The rest of that day was spent listening to Latula tell possible tall tales and cleaning dishes, with the occasional input from Quari of course. Still, his dream from earlier seemed to linger in his thoughts afterwards...

* * *

"Hey Cercana, the search of the northern tunnels came up clear, looks like no one's found it ye-...what am i lookin' at here."

Tom and Picsis looked up from their spots on the floor, the blankets covered with bits and pieces of battle gear strung around a wrapping paper on Christmas morning. Although both of them were covered in grease stains, they didn't seem to care about the creature who saw them.

That very creature was, surprisingly, Po'kits.

"Picsis needed my help clean up these parts." Tom answered quickly, setting down a trigger mechanism and wiping his some grime from his cheek onto his sleeve. "And since i'm not allowed in the Arsenal, we have to do it here. Why are you letting Cercana know the patrol routes?"

"...Why are you still teachin' him about battlegear?" Po'kits asked, avoiding Toms question as he squinted at Picsis. "You gonna teach him how to shoot us too? Might as well make it easier for him stab us in the back."

"Hey!" Tom exclaimed, but was quickly cut of by Picsis.

"My mother isn't here. If you're just gonna waste our time, get out." Picsis said, crossing her arms and giving Po'kits the fiercest glare she could muster. "Unlike you, we're actually doing something important."

"Oh, really now?" Po'kits leaned on the doorway, crossing his arms as a smug grin graced his face. "Well if you don't mind, i'll just wait here fer yer ma. It'll be easier than tailin' her down. Seein' as I have a rather important report to give her."

As Po'kits beamed, both Picsis and Tom rolled their eyes, but neither made an effort to stop the scout as he entered the room at took a seat by the window. Tom literally couldn't, and Picsis would probably get in trouble with her mother if she did, or that's what Tom assumed. With a huff, Picsis returned to her job, with Tom following right after.

The duo continued their work, with Tom cleaning the parts and handing them back to Picsis, who quickly put them back together until it formed some sort of battle gear. Some of them were ones Tom was familiar with, but others he had never seen before. It would have been amazing, if their unwanted guest wasn't keeping his gaze glued onto Tom.

"Hey, human." Po'kits called out, keeping a somewhat neutral look on his face as he stared at Tom.

"I have a name you know." Tom retorted back, not looking up from the blade he was cleaning.

"You worked at the Overworld Arsenal, right?" Po'kits asked, a sly tone entering his voice as he spoke. "As in, right in side?"

Oh, oh hell no. He better not be getting at what Tom thought he was getting at.

"Why the sudden interest?" Tom asked sarcastically, gazing upwards just to glare at Po'kits. "I thought you said Overworlders were weak on their own."

"And they are, but free battlegear's free battlegear." Po'kits said rather nonchalantly, having gone to looking down at his own blaster. "I just figured you'd want to make Picsis's job easier, seein' as the more we have, we could just rotate them out instead of havin' to wait on them bein' cleaned and repaired."

"Well sorry, but that's not happening. Just because i'm stuck here doesn't mean i'm going to rat out my friends. Besides, the Overworlder's would kick your butt before you even made it into Kiru city!" Tom replied, already feeling his blood start to boil. He didn't seem to notice the sly grin enveloping Po'kits face as well, until it was all too clear. "What's with that look?"

"Oh, nothin', just provin' a point is all." Po'kits rose up from his spot, making his way to the kitchen like area, grabbing one of the many fruits and working on it's rind. "Ain't that right, Picsis."

Picsis, meanwhile, said nothing, but had picked up her pace in battlegear repair, her gaze was kept downward as her many limbs worked in a flurry. She didn't answer, even as her name was called. Yet her posture did seem rather stiff compared to before.

"...Anyway, we won't have to worry about ya much longer. When someone finds that dang device of yers, you'll forget all about us and this place and we won't ever see yer hide again." Po'kits replied smugly, taking a bite out of the fruit and gazing out the window. "You'll probably be outta here before the festival begins, hopefully."

"Festival, what festival?" Tom asked, turning to Picsis.

"The Moonlight Festival, it's what a lot of Tribeless celebrate." Picsis looked up towards Tom, a smile growing on her face. Setting the now finished battle gear down, she leaned against the wall and allowed her nostalgia to take her away. "It's full of singing, dancing, and storytelling from all over perim! Normally you'd spend it with the few people you trust, but ever since the Oasis was founded, most creatures come to meet here. So these past few Solons, the festival's been super packed!"

"And naturally, having a human around would dampen the fun," Po'kits added, chuckling at Picsis's growig scowl. "So no need to get yer hopes up. You ain't gonna be around to see it."

"If you came into my home to eat my food and taunt my guest, then you need to get out, now."

All eyes snapped their gazes towards the door, spoting Cercana standing with a rather irritated look on her face. Her own glare seemed to be focused on Po'kits, and with her rigid stance and agitated hair flickering to and from, it was clear to see that she was a few moments away from starting a fight.

As quickly as the brutish creature could, Po'kits darted from the kitchen area, leaving his fruit on the table. He stood rigidly in front of Cercana, his tails stiff straight as he tried to save some grace from the situation.

"N-no ma'am! I was just waitin' fer you to get back is all! I was just going to-" Po'kits began, but was swiftly cut off by Cercana.

"Let me know that you hadn't found anything, I've already been informed." Crossing her arms, Cercana leaned down to sneer at Po'kits, practically looming over him. "Do not come in here without my permission again, Po'kits. I will not remind you a second time…"

"...Yes ma'am." Po'kits nodded, before dashing off with his tails between his legs. But not before giving a quick, spiteful glance at Tom and Picsis.

Once the duo was certain that their annoyance was gone, Picsis quickly hopped up and shuffled over to greet her mother. Yet she herself still kept her distance, only for the moment. It was almost sad to see her be frigtened of her own mother.

"So...did the, uh, search go well today?" Picsis asked hesitantly, moving to pick up the scraps Po'kits left and probably toss them out. Yet she didn't move again until her mother spoke.

"No, no it did not…" Letting the steam from her outrage escape her, she let out a sigh as she slumped into one of the nearby chairs, practically melting into it's form. She closed her eyes as she rubbed one of her temples. "What did he say to you two?"

"Nothing important," Picsis said briskly. She seemed like she wanted to change the topic as quickly as possible. "He just wanted to be a jerk, like always. He did mention the Moonlight Festival, which we should totally prepare for! Are you gonna tell a story this year or not? You should totally tell the one about beating that-"

"You and half the Oasis has heard that one, Picsis." Cercana cut in, yet it was clear by the growing smirk on her face that she wasn't upset.

"Tom hasn't!" Picsis added, quickly turning back towards him with a gleam in her eye. "Man! It's probably the best story too! I'd tell it to you, but it's way better coming from her! All i can say, is that those overworld scouts never knew what hit them!"

"Wait what?" Tom snapped his gaze from Picsis to Cercana. "You fought some overworld scouts, who were they?"

"She didn't just fight them, she beat the stew out of them!" Picsis quickly added, her mind enwrapped with the tale. "It was so cool, at least from what I remember."

"It was anything special ," Cercana cut in, rising slightly and giving her daughter a bit of a tired smile. "Let's focus on the present. How was battlegear building today?"

Lightening up, Picsis smiled and quickly grabbed the nearby shield she'd put together recently, as well as one Tom had been working on before.

"Great! If you couldn't see by the amazing lineup we have on the wall, we're almost done! Seeing as Tom's been helping me out, works being going way faster than it used to. Right?" She turned to Tom, an even wider smile on her face as she playfully elbowed him.

"Yeah," Tom began, a bit hesitant seeing as Cercana never really talked to him. At least, not with small talk. "It's definitely a lot more hands on then moving stuff around. But i think i'm getting the hang of it."

"Really?" Cercana replied, surprisingly sounding sincere. Cracking open one of her eyes, she gazed upon Tom and Picsis with a somewhat content look. "That's good. You two might be finished by the time I get dinner ready."

And just like that, the previous moment of outrage seemed to simmer down. The conversation turned to more domestic topics, like how the room needed to be picked up before someone got Quari, or how dinner tonight would have to be soup. It almost seemed like this was normal, and perhaps it had been, before Tom had arrived. Still, Tom's mind was circling back to what Po'kits had said. What point had he proven? That he was loyal to the Overworlders? That was obvious, he'd pretty sure he made that clear…

Speaking of which, he wondered if any of them knew he was missing. He knew Bodal had probably taken notice, seeing as he'd gotten into the habit of stopping by and working a few hours, until he could get ether some information or a new scan. Then there was the fact Maxxor would notice his absence, but it wasn't like he'd panic. Maxxor was a busy creature, he'd probably just assumed Tom came by to visit and he wasn't there…And, well, that applied to pretty much every other creature, with the exception of, well, Smildon and a few others…

Wait a minute…

"Hey Picsis," Tom quickly looked up, focusing his gaze on the Tribeless girl with a glimmer of hope in his eyes. "Wouldn't happen to know Smildon, would you?"


	7. Apologizes & Understandings

The moonlight festival required very little decoration. It was a celebration, but it wasn't extravagant, not in the least. Most of the preparations went into securing extra food and lights, rather then fancy decorations or clothes. This wasn't his first rodeo, however, not by any means. That honor went to hanging out with Kaz during the Underworld's three day Sunshroom festival, man was _that_ crazy. Not to mention all the times Peyton invited Tom to some little Mipedian shindig. Then there was also the time that he and Sarah had snuck into Mt. Pillar to watch Queen Aszil's official coronation. That in itself had been pretty epic, seeing as they managed to get there _just_ in time for the act. And of course the Overworlders had their parties every now and then, many of which Tom had gotten to witness and even partake in. But each one was special, and the Moonlight festival was no exception.

Of course, the one thing that _was_ important to the moonlight festival was it's role of Storytelling. One that had been passed down from Tribeless to Tribeless, from generation to generation. Yet not all stories were old, some were tales of recent adventures, of funny moments, of beautiful discoveries, and even more.

Which is why Tom went to the Tide Speaker's cavern, after having spent a week wondering if he would still be around for the festival.

Getting there had been relatively easy, at least when he talked to Latula about the questions he had. Latula had been so enthralled with the idea of Tom sharing his stories, having heard his Prexxor adventure from Picsis the day after he'd told her, that he was even more excited then she was. So he escorted Tom to the Tide Speaker while on his way back to the Arsenal, carrying a pile of weapons dangerously in his arms. The two guards positioned there kept their gazes firmly on Tom, but after a few moments nodded at him, and then Latula.

He caught himself nodding back, and as he walked back in, the guards returned their gazes towards the center of the Oasis.

Latula only followed him halfway before stopping.

"Alright, now I'll be back as soon as everyone comes by to pick up their battle gear," he said with a smile, "but if you finish up before then, just hurry on back home. I'm sure Picsis and Cercana will be back from their patrol by then."

"Got it," Tom nodded, "Thanks again for vouching for me."

"No problem! See you around!"

And like that, Tom was once again alone in the dark, dimly lit cavern.

It had been about a month since he'd been here. A whole month full of doing chores, full of learning about the tribeless, and full of waiting for someone to find his scanner. He wasn't going to lie; if he hadn't been worried about his eventual mind wipe, or the possibility that they could never find his scanner, he'd was having a good time. Sure, he didn't really enjoy the chores, but he did like learning about battlegear with Latula, and making jokes with Picsis, and even watching over Quari. He enjoyed the food, the area, and especially the view of the night sky here.

But with the possibility that he may come into this cave one last time, to have it all be erased from his memory; it kinda freaked him out…

That's probably another reason he didn't want to go in here. But when was he going to let a little fear stop him.

"Hello?" Tom called out, already walking further into the cavern. He felt the sand crunch under his feet, getting damper the closer he got to the tidepools. The dimness of the cave soon lightened, as the rocks surrounding him picked up their glow. He saw her, sitting near one of the tidepools, watching it intensely. "Ms Tide Speaker?"

" _Ah, young one, It has been quite some time,"_ The Tide Speaker rasped out, turning her gaze from the pool to him. Her voice held fondness, happy to hear him, he guessed. Using her staff, she motioned him to come closer. " _Come, come. Grab a cushion and take a seat."_

Raising an eyebrow, Tom did as she said, taking a raggedy purple cushion and sitting next to her. He kept his legs crossed as his gaze shifted from her to the tide pool and back. "I'm gonna guess that the tidepool has something to say, am I right?"

" _Yes, yes you are,"_ the Tide Speaker replied, returning her gaze to the calm tidepool. " _But I surely hope you didn't come to see an old women stare at water all day. Tell me, what is it you seek?"_

"Uh, well, I…I was hoping I could tell a story at the Moonlight festival," Tom stammered out, feeling a bit embarrassed at having to ask this. "I know some of these things can be scared and all, and I just didn't want to-"

" _I see no reason not too,"_ The Tide Speaker chuckled, gently tapping the tide pool with her walking stick. " _I appreciate your consideration, young one. But you have nothing to fear. No one will be angry that at you for speaking of trails and adventures."_

"Oh," Tom said, a rather plain look oh his face. "Ok, cool…"

They remained like that for a few moments, with the distant echoes of the Oasis gently floating in, and the occasional sound of water dropping into puddles. It was peaceful, with how the lights glowed and how the air remained cool. He could almost fall asleep here, if he had a blanket wrapped around him, that is.

" _How are you faring here, young one?"_ The Tide Speaker asked, after a moment of waiting. " _I've heard that you've left quite the impression of a few creatures."_

Tom smiled at her question, feeling himself relax as he expected that maybe they'd converse for a bit.. "Oh, which ones? I mean, if it's Po'kits we're talking about here, then I can guess what his impression already is."

Tom smiled even more when the Tide Speaker shook her head, chuckling at the idea.

" _No, no, mostly with the children, and in turn their parents"_ By now the Tide Speaker turned her hooded gaze towards Tom. " _The children think the world of you, and it's put you in good favor with the rest of the community. Many are still cautious, but only a few believe you could actually mean any harm."_

"Well duh," Tom replied, "I mean, it's not like I have any powers or anything. I'm pretty sure even Quari could hurt people more than I ever could."

" _You better be careful, you might have jinxed yourself saying that,"_ The Tide Speaker stated smugly, chuckling at Tom's surprised look. " _Oh relax, it was a joke. Now, do you have any more questions to ask?"_

Tom shook his head, still a bit unsure about her quipt.

" _Then go, go and enjoy the rest of your day. And make sure to save your stories for the Moonlight festival."_

And just like that, Tom rose from his spot and, after placing his cushion back on the cushion pile, made his way back to the exit. He seemed even more excited for the event, already trying to decide where to start the story and what details to include and explain. He was so deep in his though, that he didn't even realize he was back in the center of town until he saw Picsis rushing over, two baskets in her arms and an excited smile gracing her face.

"Hey! Guess what lucky job we get to do today?" Picsis said jokingly, thrusting one of the baskets into Toms arms and already making her way towards the eastern exit.

"Water root collecting again?" Tom moaned, exasperated. "Didn't someone else already collect like, a ton of that stuff earlier this week?"

"They grabbed the roots too early," Picsis called back, her figure already fading into the darkness of the cave. She wasn't going to wait on him, and he knew this by now. Yet she did keep her stride small until he had caught up. "So...how did it go?"

"It went better than I thought," he said, smiling as he kept his gaze at the path before them, "She said I could tell my story, and basically only a few creatures still don't trust me. Other than that, nothing new."

"Wonderful! See, I knew I was right about this," by now Picsis had untied her hair, allowing the tentacles to carry the basket while she her arms remained free, currently moving to accentuate her speech. " We both knew! Honestly I wish Mother wouldn't be so...so…"

Tom smirked as Picsis struggled to come up with the proper word, her posture hunching over as she thought deeply about it. "Controlling?"

"Yes!" Picsis exclaimed, nearly dropping her basket as she jerked her head back at Tom. "I know she's just trying to keep everyone safe, but we're not infants!"

"Yeah, you said it," Tom replied, nodding along, "I mean, I've only met a few mom in perim, but yours seems to be one of the strictest… wait, didn't she let you go on patrol today? Isn't that a step up?"

"No, I was only able to go because she was there," Picsis muttered, already pouting and crossing her arms. By now her hair started to wiggle and twitch, clearly agitated. "Honestly, It's so condescending!"

"Uh, Picsis," Tom began, but was quickly cut off and Picsis spoke on.

"I know I've made a few mistakes when I was younger, but I've learned from them! For cothica's sake, I'll be of age in a few more solons! I should already have some stories to tell at the festival! And what do I have? Oh, only tales of doing nothing!" By now Picsis was full on ranting, whatever hair that wasn't held onto the basket was thrashing about. Her hands had long since formed into fist, and by the gritting of her teeth, she was too busy to notice Tom's growing concern.

"Picsis the basket," Tom started, noticing how the weaved wood seemed to creak and crackle under Picsis's grip. Yet when he noticed she wasn't paying attention, her reached for her shoulder. "Picsis c'mon you're gonna break it!"

The moment he did, a tentacle quickly reached out and slapped his face, causing him to stumble back and for Picsis to freeze instantly, a horrified look gracing her face. "Oh my goodness!"

"Gah," Tom groaned, rubbing his jaw in an effort to sooth the pain. No doubt that'd leave a bruise, but he was lucky it wasn't worse, all things considered.

"Are you alright?! Here, let me see," the outrage in Picsis's tone had completely vanished by now, and she quickly tried to move Tom's hand to see the damage she caused. "Tom I'm so, so sorry- I didn't mean to, I just-"

"I'm fine, it's fine," Tom quickly replied, trying the keep Picsis from messing with his now sore cheek. "You didn't mean it. Just- let's go and get the roots, alright?"

"...right," Picsis replied, a bit of a solemn look on her face. She quickly backed away from Tom, giving him plenty of space. "Right, right…Sorry I...I just, got carried away."

"It was an accident; it's fine," Tom repeated again, picking up his own basket and already making his way back down the path. It would be a few moments of awkward walking, with only the dripping of the water from the ceiling to keep away the silence. But by the time their path started to narrow and the river came into view, Tom had managed to get his voice back, even though his cheek hurt like hell. "You know, you're mom's kind of like my friend's mom. She's pretty controlling over Kaz too."

Picsis didn't say much for a few moments, having kept her head down and her gaze away from Tom. But when she mulled over his words, she did speak once more. "Doesn't he get mad?"

"Oh all the time," Tom chuckled, recalling last rant Kaz had told him, "They don't really see eye to eye on a lot of things. Heck, it got so bad that one time she took his scanner away, and he couldn't come to chaotic for a whole month."

"Month?" Picsis asked, giving Tom a confused look.

" A third of a solon," Tom replied, smiling as Picsis nodded understandingly. "He was so pissed, he couldn't believe it'd happened. He spent all week sneaking over to my house and ranting about it no stop until he managed to find his scanner again and port in."

"Huh, Kaz is the red haired one, correct?" Picsis asked, trying to recall the description Tom was talking about. "The one who likes underworlders?"

"Yep, that's Kaz."

"Alright," Picsis nodded, trying to recall who Kaz was, mostly from Tom's stories. "...What did his mother do when she found out?"

"Oh she was peeved, they had this huge fight about it, you could hear it from our house." Tom replied, before catching the frightened look on Picsis's face. "Not like a battle or anything, just like, they argued over it for a while. But the point is, after a bit, they both got tired and went and got burgers and just sorta, talked everything over…They both admitted that they'd probably wouldn't have any interest in what the other likes, but they also admitted that they still cared about each other, and that they'd tried to work on it. "

Tom paused, waiting for any other questions from Picsis, but she gave none. He continued. "So now Kaz's mom gets him more chaotic packs and listens to him about Chaotic, and Kaz has been learning how to do work around the house so his mom won't have to do as much when she gets home. Not everything's perfect, but they're getting better cause they talked about it."

"...So you're saying I should just talk to my mother?" Picsis asked, stopping once they hit the cove where the current slowed and the water root grew.

"Yeah, basically," Tom admitted.

"...hm," Picsis mused, before diving into the water. With a graceful splash, she was gone in the blink of an eye. Tom just took his seat on the river's edge, feeling the cool rock and sand under his hands, and waited. They'd done this countless times, sometimes they'd even race to see who'd be able to fish out as much root as possible...but, well, Tom didn't really feel like diving in the water. And Picsis seemed like she needed a few moments on her own…

Setting the baskets on each side of him, Tom let his mind wander.

Tom and Picsis didn't really talk much on the trip back, but even if they had, the bustle they heard from the Oasis would have cut their conversation short anyway. It seemed that a large amount of creatures had arrived, all talking with ether each other or others and such. And even with the setting sun taking most of the light with it, there were some creatures Tom had recognized, but there were others he didn't. Mixed in with all the usually travelers, were all sorts of mysterious beings, some completely covered by their armor, others weighed down with so much wae Tom just wondered how they moved at all. It was almost a bit exciting, seeing all sorts of new creatures for the first time

But with new creatures came more stares.

"What's a human doing here?" One of the creatures gasped, before being nudged by another into silence. Tom just gave a quick smile, a wave, before making a dash towards Mooro's clinic, with Picsis right on his tail.

"I'll take it these creatures are gathering for the festival?" Tom asked quietly, his voice barely above a whisper. He caught another few creatures giving him a look, but quickly shrug it off.

"Probably," Picsis admitted, keeping her gaze on the path ahead, not really greeting anyone. Her tone still seemed to be less chipper, but she wasn't trying to be rude. "Other's might be dropping some things off or attempting to sell items tomorrow, though. Not everyone can make it to the Oasis for the Festival, so some go out to meet with others in more secluded parts. It's still a good time to get items and such."

The walk up the sides always seemed to go by faster and faster these days, and before Tom knew it, they were already in front of Mooro's office. From their spot in front of the doorway, Tom swore he could hear Mooro talking to someone, but this was usually too late for him to take casual patients. Nonetheless, Picsis was already barreling in.

"Hey Mooro! We got the water root, this time at its _peak_ ripeness," Picsis teased, no doubt sounding louder to try and let Mooro know someone was coming it. And to give ample warning if he was in the middle of something.

"About time," Mooro called out, his gruff voice echoing slightly from the office. "Hey, is Tom with you?"

"Uh, yeah?" Picsis began, sharing a look with Tom as she walked in ahead. "Why? What's going-Oh, Hitali!"

And true enough, Hitali was there, sitting on one of the medical beds with the least bit in the world. With his mound of a backpack laided in the corner, he seemed to have been just chatting with Mooro, eating a small meal he'd no doubt packed for the trip here, but never really got around to eating it. Tom noticed this, of course, because he had poked his head in when he heard Hitali's name.

"Ah, Tom!" Hitali called out with a kind smile, his eyes widening is mirthful surprise. "You know, when I said you were suppose to find me, I didn't mean like this."

"Well, this wasn't exactly the plan," Tom chuckled sheepishly, quickly setting the water root down before making his way over. "But when'd you get here? You're here for the festival too, ri-!"

Before he could finish, Mooro had reached one of his four arms out to grab Tom by his wrist, his orange, pupiless eyes catching the growing bruise on Tom's face. Quickly, he reached over to a nearby basin and handed Tom a damp clump of Moss. "For your face, squirt. It'll help with with the bruising."

"Oh, uh, thanks." Tom responded, ahd hesitating for a moment, before placing the wet plant onto his face. It's coolness did feel slightly better on his cheek. Out of the corner of his eye, Tom caught Picsis quickly looking away.

"Heh, always a man of action, aren't you Mooro," Hitali started, chuckling at the exchange. "But to answer your question, I won't be staying for the full festival. Smildon's still tribeless, at least for now. I was going to celebrate with him, back at the chasm. "

"Wait, Smildon's thinking about being an overworlder?" Picsis spoke up, seeming shocked. "Like, _the_ Smildon, the one who took out multiple underworlder warriors with only his claws? Why would he-"

"Oh, for a number of reasons," Hitali practically groaned, rubbing one of his temples with his webbed hands. "I've been trying to talk him out of it, but he's dead set on joining them."

"...oh," Picsis muttered, her voice simmering into a somber tone. "Well, that sucks…I always wanted to meet him."

"Hey, it's not like he's gonna die or anything," Tom replied, reaching over and placing a hand on Picsis's shoulder. "Besides, he's just a old grump anyway, you're not missing out on much."

"Psh, should you really be saying that when he can't defend himself?" Hitali chuckled, before rising to his feet and opening his backpack. He continued to speak as he rummaged about, gaze focused on the clutter. "But that's not the only reason I'm here. I have some deliveries to make, and a package with your family's name on it. Could you two do me a favor and take this package with you? Well, once I find it..."

Tom blinked for a few moments, quirking his brow as his gaze shifted to Picsis. "A package? Hitali I thought you were a merchant?"

Mooro managed to smirk at that, sharing a look with Picsis as the duo seemed to know something that Tom didn't. But before he could ask, Hitali cut in.

"Oh no, I am. I'm just considered a trustworthy Tribeless, so creatures will often pay me to take mail to others if I come across them. Think of it as, oh what's the term you humans use, Moonlighting?" Hitali stated, before lighting up when he managed to pull out a rather plain package, tied in leather bindings. "Ah, here we go. It's from Bri'al, but you probably already assumed that."

"Bri'al?" Tom questioned, but he was left unanswered.

"Yeah, but thank you for delivering it," Picsis replied, the smirk shifting back into a smile. "Does mother know you're here? She'd love to talk to you!"

"Ah, I don't believe so, but I've heard she's been through a lot today. Tell her to swing by my shop tomorrow and we can she the fat, like old times." Hitali replied, settling back down into his chair. "And tell her to bring Quari! I haven't seen the little thing since it was a tadpole!"

"Sure thing." Picsis chuckled, already making her way to the door. "We'd better get going, good night!"

"Of course, of course," Hitali nodded, "Oh, and Tom. I'm only letting this count as one time. Understand!"

Tom smirked, rolling his eyes. "Sure thing, Night."

And like that, they we're back outside, with the night sky sparkling above them. It seemed rather nice, all things considering. The peaceful atmosphere, as well as the few decorations already set up in the square. Not to mention the moon, almost completely circular, seemed to shine a wonderful yellow hue. It was nice…

"...Tom, I'm sorry again for slapping you." Picsis stated, halfway up the path.

"Listen, it was a accident, you didn't mean to-" Tom began, but was once again cut off.

"No, I should be more careful. Stuff like that, letting my emotions get the best of me, it's probably why my mom still won't let me do stuff on my own." She stated, tearing her gaze from the package and at Tom. "Besides, you're my friend. One of my first in a long time. I don't...I don't want you to _not_ be my friend anymore."

It then it hit Tom that, well...He'd never really seen anyone Picsis's age. Sure, there were the kids, but the oldest ones seemed to be like second graders, at the most. And even then there was only three of them. Everyone else was ether an adult or an elder.

Had Picsis ever had any friends here age before? If she had, were they even alive?

"...Picsis, that probably wouldn't have hurt me if I was a creature," Tom said after a few moments, reaching over and patting her on the shoulder. "It was an accident, and I forgive you. Don't beat yourself up over it, ok?"

"...Ok," Picsis replied, after a few moments of of silence. She started to smile, and even her hair seemed to perk up. "Anyway, man Mom's going to be so happy to have this! We haven't heard from, Bri'al in forever!"

"Speaking of that, who's Bri'al? I don't think you've told me about them before…"

"What?! Of course We've-..." Picsis stopped in her tracts, eyes widening in shock. "Oh….Oh no we _didn't!_ _Oh Cothica_ _how did we not tell you about him?!_ "

"Well don't beat around the bush, who is he?" Tom asked, even more curious now then ever.

"He's Quari's father," came a voice from behind them. "Not to mention my partner."

Spinning on his heels, Tom almost jumped when he spotted Cercana, standing way closer than he thought she would. How did she get so close without them noticing, he'd probably never know. But she was there nonetheless, tired and sweaty, with little Quari strapped to her front in a sling. She didn't seem angry, just stating it as a fact. "Ah, I see Hitali's in town."

"Mother!" Picsis exclaimed, "How did we forget to mentions _an entire family member?!_ "

"I didn't forget, you did." Cercana replied with a smirk, passing both Tom and Picsis as she shuffled on. But not before ruffling Picsis's hair. "Come along, it's getting late, and I would like to see what Bri'al sent us."

Tom, meanwhile, was still processing that someone would want to be in a relationship with Cercana. Scary, emotionally mellow Cercana. Cercana who seems to be the closest thing the Osais has to a city guard…

But then again, Cercana wouldn't be the oddest creature Tom had known that had managed to get in a relationship.

"Wait," Tom started, realizing that both Picsis and Cercana has already started walking. He ran to quickly catch up. "You said Quari's father, so..."

"Do Overworlder's always ask so much about other people's business?" Cercana asked instead, cutting Tom off with the bluntness of her words and the glare in her eye. She meant for him to drop it. Yet Picsis had other ideas.

"Bri'al isn't my birth father, but he treats me like his daughter." Picsis responded, smiling as she spoke. "He actually wouldn't have met my mother if he hadn't met me first, funny enough."

"Huh, well that explains why Quari has those marks…" Tom mused, smiling to himself for a few moments. "You know, I never really knew my dad ether. It'd had always been my mom and me…of course, I don't really have a step-uncle in the picture ether, but I bet this Bri'al guy's pretty good if he sends you guys stuff."

" Oh wow, you never said anything about that…" And like that, Picsis was off again, asking Tom about his mother and such. Yet unbeknownst to them, not only was Picsis listening, but Cercana was as well…

She smiled faintly as the two talked about their shared experiences and differences. Part of her was happy, that her daughter had found someone else to talk to. Yet the rest of her knew that this friendship, like many of the other's her daughter had had, was not meant to last...


	8. Moonlight Festival I

Another week passes by. And to the joy of some and the annoyance of others, Tom's scanner was not yet found. The Oasis had been getting more and more crowded, with some creatures even deciding to sleep near the center of town. At night, Tom could see them perched out in tents, or even just leaving themselves to the elements. Yet by the next day, more and more would filter in, bring all sorts of new wares and items with them. It was almost crazy to think about, that all these creatures didn't belong to any of the tribes. What was even crazier was how strong they all looked, no doubt from living on their own.

It drove Tom crazy, seeing all these possible scans, and no way to get them.

"Yes, it's something I've noticed the more I travel," Hitali said, when Tom had gone to visit his stand a few days after he arrived. By then, he'd gotten a little tent set up, close to the easter ramp way leading up. It looked tacky, but it was functional and, in all honesty, fit Hitali perfectly. Or at least it had, before Tom had changed the topic from rare "goods" to the growing number of Tribeless. "Each Solon, more and more arrive. It makes me wonder, if they've been here all along, or..."

Hitali never finished that sentence, and to be honest, Tom didn't want to ether. Yet his mind was already piecing what could have been said. Maybe these creatures had been abandoned by their original tribes, or perhaps they got fed up with the war and decided a life of nomadicity was better. Of course, if anyone had suggested that to Tom about a year ago, he would have denied both ideas entirely. After all, Overworlders never acted like that. Or at least, not his idolized idea of what an Overworlder was suppose to be. And while Maxxor and the others usually fit that roles, some creatures did not. Creatures like Viqtarr and Slurhk would jump on the chance to get rid of any Overworlders who did fit "their" ideal of a warrior, probably. And didn't Momark usually worry that he would get kicked out if one more of his creations changed sides?

No, knowing what he did now, Tom knew that even his favorite tribe may not be as innocent as he hoped. Still, it didn't stop him from saying something else extremely stupid.

"Have you met others like you?" Tom asked, having turned away from idly creature watching to look Hitali right in the face. Before he could even say another word, he was still stuck between apologizing and doubling down, Hitali just let out a sigh, closing his eyes and leaning his old body against the back wall of the ramp. He seemed to almost sink into himself, his age showing at full display.

"If you mean what I think you meant," He began, not bothering to crack open an eye as he spoke. "Then yes. Yes I have."

A few moments passed, before Tom decided to try his luck again. This time, trying to ease the bluntness of his words. He wanted to know what it was like, but he also didn't want to make Hitali mad. "Bodal told me that everyone thinks you're-"

"Bodal?" One of Hitali's eyes snapped open, and a look of amusement crossed his froggy face. "Bodel told you about me? Oh that must have taken ages. I've heard the stout fellow could talk a ghost to death."

"Psh, don't even get me started," Tom smirked, rolling his eyes as he moved to sit down across from Hitali.

"No, please do!" Hitali smirked, his hands resting on his criss-crossed knees as he leaned closer. "I do miss gossiping about the others. Fill me in, how's everyone doing?"

"Oh?" Tom began, his own eyes glistening with memories, stories and shenanigans he could tell. "Well, ok, you're never gonna believe this, but…"

And like that, he was off. Just like the night at the campfire, Tom and Hitali swapped stories and spoke of old mutual friends. It turns out Bodal was right, about Hitali being Maxxor's old mentor.

"When I first met the boy," Hitali began, shaking his head and chuckling at the memory. "He was so stubborn! I'd have to tell him all the time "Maxxor, you're not ready for that battle gear" or "Maxxor you're not strong enough to weather a rust storm". And he'd be all "No I'm ready! I can handle it!" And-"

Hitali shook his head, a laugh escaping him.

"He'd just _jump_ in, as if rushing through the bad could make the outcome better! Chothica, that boy was a mess! Why, did you ever hear about the time he took Blaizer's Mowercycle for a joy ride?"

Tom's mind froze, short circuiting at the idea. "Wait, he did what?!"

"Oh you haven't?" By now, Hitali seemed to be back to his former self, all mischievous and mirthful. "Well at the time, Mowercycles had just been invented…"

* * *

 _You see Tom, most travel had been done by skeletal steeds, or other fauna around Perim. Sure, we were dipping our toes into mechanical travel, but it was all very new and untested. I myself prefer walking, but I won't deny that motorized travel is faster. Anyway, so one day, around the outskirts of Kiru city, we see something tearing up the plains. I was with Maxxor and his pal Raznus -the two were inseparable back then- and we were on the city wall, having a lesson on how to use your surroundings in battle._

 _Naturally, we see this dust cloud rushing up, and all the guards are panicking because we don't have anything that could stir up that much dirt. Maxxor's getting ready for a fight, and I'm right there beside him because I haven't seen a Mowercycle before. It's only when Raznus almost stabs my eye out with a scope that I see it's Blaizer, lookin' like he just found the Chothica as he barrels towards the city._

 _Of course now that I know it's a not an enemy but, in fact, an adrenaline junkie; I'm stuck getting the guards to lower their battlegear and not blow Blazier's head off._

 _So Blazier manages to stop at the gates when he realizes there not opening for him, and he's just tearing it up out there. By the time we get down there he's already tilled up enough dirt to plant a field of oats, but of course we didn't care. Or at least I didn't at the time, seeing as setting up a field around Kiru city was just asking for trouble._

" _Blaizer?!" I'm yelling, because naturally the motor was loud and also I'm still getting over everything. "Blaizer what in the world is this thing?!"_

 _And Blazier just stops beside up and jumps out of the damn thing all "No time gotta talk to MadCap!"_

* * *

"Wait, Madcap?" Tom jumped in, his brow furrowing. "Who's that?"

"Oh, Madcap was the nickname we gave Maxxor's father. Back when we were all in training together, he'd- oh hold on, that's another long story." Hitali responded, waving Tom off as he continued the original tale. "So as I was saying-"

"You trained with Maxxor's dad?!"

"As I was _saying…_ "

* * *

 _Naturally I go after Blazier, because if it's involving Madcap then it must be serious. Especially if he's willing to just blow past me. Long story short, it was serious. I think the Underworlders were thinking about making an alliance with the Danians or something. The details are a big foggy. But by the time we leave Madcap's already getting a battle plan ready so now Blazier's all ready to show off his new "ride". Which he ever so conveniently "borrowed" from some Underworld armory. He's going on and on about it, how great it is, just gloating it all up. Typical Blazier._

 _Except, halfway to the gate, we hear a motor scream to life. I realize that the boys didn't come back in with me, and at that time Blazier realizes it too. We both share this look, and he takes off towards the gate. I'm just strutting behind, shit eating grin on my face. Cause I know that that Mowercycle isn't gonna make it out alive._

 _By the time I get there, Blazier's looking all over for the damn cycle, swearing up and down if the kids broke it he's going to tan there hides and such. I'm just cackling, because of course this would happen. It's only when a tree falls, all the way at the forest line, that we know where they are._

 _And by they, I mean Maxxor and Raznus, who not a few moments later, shot right out of the treeline._

 _Maxxor clearly didn't know what he was doing, but he didn't give a damn. He was clenching the handle bars, leaning as far as he could to, just laughing like a fool! I don't think I'd ever seen the boy happier than that moment. And-and poor Raznus- that boy was always the smarter one of the duo- he was clinging on for dear life, yelling at Maxxor to slow down! It was amazing, just watching the two flying across the dirt!_

 _Blazier's right beside me, arms flailing to get Maxxor to shut it down, and of course Maxxor's not giving him the time of day. I was already laughing my head off, so I missed how this next part happened. But when I looked back up, Maxxor and Raznus had somehow gotten the saraded part of the Mowercycle caught on something. They were spinning around in circles! All cause Maxxor was determined to get them unlodged, and knew the moment he got off Blazier ould tan his hide!_

 _Chothica, by then I'd hit the ground, cacklin' like a fool!_

* * *

"He-" Hitali wheezed, still chuckling at the memory. "He only stopped when Raznus got flung off! Poor boy was sent flying! It was a good thing all that dirt got tilled up, gave him a soft place to land!"

"That's crazy!" Tom exclaimed, he himself still laughing at the image. He'd only known Ambassador Raznus as he was, an old man. But then his laugher seemed to dry up quickly, realizing a somber thought. "They must have been thick as thieves back then…"

"Oh they were!" Hitali nodded, before he, too, became aware of Tom's stillness. For a moment, he seemed confused, until the pieces clicked in his mind. With the wind taken out of his sails, Hitali seemed to sink into his seat, his smile turning grim and his voice growing a little rougher. "That they were…"

A few quiet moments past between them, neither saying much. Tom had so many more questions to ask, but he didn't know if he'd overstepped his bounds. He settled on trying to fix the mood.

"You know, apparently one of the Mipedian's was cured," Tom mentioned, recalling a story he heard. "Who know's how long it'll take until the Overworlder's figure out how to reverse assimilation."

Hitali just closed his eyes again, letting out a sigh. "It's not any of my business anyway."

Tom simply scowled at that, already about to unleash a _what was that supposed to mean,_ but was stopped. Having rummaged in one of his traveling pockets, Hitali had unearthed a small velvet bag, holding it out for Tom. "Here. I suppose I've already given you my tale for the Moonlight festival, but here's something a little extra for you and the girls. Just to makeup for my absence."

Curious, Tom took the bag and peeked inside, seeming surprised at the three wrapped pieces of Mipedian candy inside. Of course, he'd only recognize this due to Peyton having snagged some before.

"Oh, uh, thank's Hit-" Tom began, looking up only to find Hitali gone. Scrambling to his feet, his gaze darted around until he saw Hitali already on the upper level, his sack on his back and waving goodbye. Tom just stared after him, giving his own slight wave.

It would be two days later that the Moon Festival would begin.

* * *

Lanterns, all in various hues and colors, were hung up on strings, scattered all across the Oasis like multicolored stars. They were all different shapes and sized, made out of whatever the creatures could have gotten their hands on. Plenty of creatures had brought out their tables and chairs, setting up stands for traveling Tribeless to obtain foods and trade for goods. Closer, towards the center of the Oasis, a three huge fire pits had been scattered about, with all sorts of creatures dancing and playing music. Yet what caught Tom attention was the Moon, seemingly huge in the sky, and how it Reflected in the Oasis. The normally navy water's shining an almost transcendent white.

When Tom first saw it all, he'd been taken aback. So much so, that he'd almost stumbled off the ledge and tumbled down to the next floor. Almost.

"Whoa!" He yelped, just before he was pulled back by Picsis herself. It was a good thing he'd decided to wear that cloak Kurgo had gotten them, else Picsis could have yanked his shoulder by mistake.

"I know, right!" Picsis exclaimed, assuming Tom was just as dazzled. "It wasn't nearly as colorful last year! Mother, who was incharge of decoration?"

"I believe it was Yeshie," Cercana began, being the last to make it out of the burrow. Her usual terrifying aura was pretty much squashed by Quari being held in her arms, having taken to holding two strands of her mother's hair tightly. "Or maybe it was Etrrik, I'm not quite sure."

"Either way, this is amazing!" Tom's eyes were already darting around, trying to decide what he wanted to check out first. The auroma from the food was already tantalizing, but the chords from the bands were already getting his feet to tap. But before he could decide, Picsis had already locked arms with him, dragging him off. "Wait, where are we going?!"

"I promised Latula the first story you'd hear would be from him," Picsis yelled back, pushing through the crowds as they made their way to Arsenal.

Tom didn't have the heart to tell her, or Latula for that matter, that Hitali had already beaten them to the punch. With a roll of his eyes and a knowing smirk, Tom followed behind as they crept through the flood of creatures around them. As they passes homes upon homes, Tom noticed something. Each home that had a crowd surrounding it also had a candle lit in the window. Those that didn't we're either empty, or only had a few creatures inside.

"Hey Picsis, what's with the candles?" Tom asked, making his way to be beside her rather than behind.

"Oh, they're to signal when someone is taking an audience or not." Picsis replied, slowing down slightly to point out two places. "See, not all creatures want others in their home, or to tell a story. So if you want to tell a story to whoever will listen, then you place a candle on your window and light a flame."

"Makes sense," Tom admitted, before being once again tugged down the road.

By the time they got to the Arsenal, a small crowd had gathered, with creatures of all shapes and sizes, standing and sitting around the Arsenal entrance. Latula and Lakitoa seemed to be talking amongst themselves, with Latula seeming to be looking up every now and then to scan the audience. It wasn't until he spotted Tom and Picsis that he smiled, practically beaming as he jumped onto his stool and swept his arms.

"Gather round, gather round!" Latula yelled, even though most of the creatures had already gathered around. It still gave Tom and Picsis just enough time to get a decent seat, one that close to the side yet not too crowded. "Now, it is wonderful to see some familiar faces, and even more wonderful to see some new ones! My name is Latula, and tonight, I will be telling the tale of how I met one of my best friends, as well wonderful partner, Lakitoa!"

That seemed to get a few in the audience to groan, but other simply laughed or let out a cheer. Lakitoa himself seemed to jump at the revelation, and no doubt, he'd be blushing if he could.

"W-what?!" Lakitoa stammered, eyes wide. "I thought you were going to talk about your first mission?!"

"Well, I was, but everyone's ether heard or heard _of_ it before." Latula replied, as if it was as plain as day. And Tom guessed it probably was, seeing as a few members of the audience nodded along. "Not many know about how you saved my life, my love. Why if they even began to know just how-"

"Get on with it," Someone shouted, earning a mean look from Latula, but was quickly dashed apart by a round of cheers in response.

"Alright, Alright," Latula gave in, smile growing on his face as he stood tall. Letting his tail curl around Lakitoa as he spoke, Latula began their tale. "Well, it was roughly four solons ago, when the tribes were still at war and the world was a far more dangerous place. Originally, I was sneaking about underground, because I had heard of a rare new piece of battle gear, created by the underworlders. I think it might have been Ulmar, but then again when does he not make battle gear? Anyway, I had just snuck out, empty handed at that, when a patrol on the edge spotted me…"

* * *

" _Get him! Don't let that mipedian escape!"_

 _Running as fast as my legs could carry me; I, younger and even more reckless, cackled as I dashed about. Those underworlders thought I was a Mipedian, oh how mistaken they would be. But I couldn't be caught, not when I didn't know who was in the jail at the moment and who wasn't. Dressed in a shoddy cloak and armed to the lightly for the trip, I didn't want to waste any ammo if I didn't have to._

 _Yet my presurers weren't as considerate, judging by the amount of shots they'd taken at me._

" _Fight like a warrior, you coward!" One of the creatures called out, perhaps pytherion? I hadn't cared back then to check._

" _I will when you start," I yelled back, before quickly ducking out of the way of a Poison Panic. Feeling even more cocky, I turned around, back petaling just to insult them more. Oh you should have seen the look on their faces, they were enraged that a slippery little thing like me was dodging them so easily. "Aw, you almost had be there! C'mon, give it another-"_

 _And then, suddenly, I noticed something rather important…_

 _My feet weren't touching the ground anymore._

 _No, in fact, they weren't touching anything at all! I had ran right off a cliff! Falling backward, I felt my heart sink into my stomach as I realized what had happened. With all my might, I tried to reach for the cliff edge, arms scrambling in the space between desperately to live. Yet I was already too far, and only the tips of my claws scratched the ledge. As gravity took hold, I saw the two Underworlder peer over the edge, their smug little faces getting farther and farther away as I fell._

 _And then,_

 _with an explosion of pain,_

 _I blacked out…_

 _Everything had been a fuzzy for a bit. For all I knew i could have been laying there for minutes, or perhaps hours. I was lost to the world. At least, until i felt something prode my side, some sort of stick like object. There was quiet muttering as well, almost so faint that I thought it was my own thoughts. But then, after a partially hard jab to my broken ribs, my eyes snapped open._

 _And there, staring down from above me, were the most beautiful pair of green eyes i'd ever seen._

 _Yet they belonged to a Danian mandiblor._

 _If I hadn't broken so many bones, I would have darted up and scuttled away. Yet I was effectively pinned by the amount of pain I was in. Thankfully, the Mandiblor himself had been freaked out as well, and instantly jumped perhaps seven feet away, drawing his sting blade at the ready._

" _Don't move! I-I'll shoot!" The Mandiblor yelled, taking aim._

" _Ugh, please do," I had wheezed, not even bothering to sit up. My mouth tasted like copper, which was never a good thing to wake up too. Honestly, I figured I was almost dead anyway, I'd might as well joke around till the end. "I'd rather die quickly then drown on my own blood."_

" _Ah, well then, uh...I will grant you a quick death if you tell me what you came here for." The mandiblor exclaimed, trying to sound terrifying, but failing horribly. He gave it a good effort."Else I'll get Odu Bathax, and then you'll really be wishing for-"_

" _...wait...Odu Bathes?" I quirked my brow, turning my head as much as I could to face the mandiblor. I knew who Odu Bathax was, i just wanted to be an ass. "What kind of a name is that?! I sure hope he's called that because he takes too many bathes, rather then not enough. "_

" _What? No, no. It's Odu Bathax," the mandiblor responded, taking a few steps closer. He didn't seem as afraid of me as he had before. But he was taking me seriously, which was sweet. "B-a-t-h-a-x, It's an- it's an old Danian name. Anyway, the point is you need to start talking! Did you come here to assassinate the queen, or something worse?"_

" _Listen bug boy, the only thing I did was piss off some underworlders," I wheezed out, the smile still plain on my face. "If I wanted to bother the Danians today, I'd have at least made sure not to...fall on...my ass…"_

 _Everything was starting to black out again, it was getting harder to breathe._

" _Hey, Hey!" Suddenly, the mandiblor was on the ground, kneeling next to me. He seemed nervous now, as if he didn't know what to do. "Don't die on me, I still got questions!"_

" _Trust me, I….don't want… to die ether," I was fighting to breathe then. It took me so much just to turn my head back to the ceiling. This must have been it, I thought, my luck finally ran out… At least I wasn't going to perish alone. "But it looks like, I'm gonna...Can you do me a favor? I...I don't wanna go alone..."_

" _Cothica," The mandiblor muttered, seeming frazzled. Yet after a few moments, he spoke again. "S-sure, sure...uh, names Lakitoa. What's your name, Mipedian?"_

" _Latula...And I ain't a ...Mipedian...I'm Tribeless…"_

 _And then, confident with my final words, I let the darkness take me in her embrace…_

* * *

"And _died_ ," Latula stated dramatically, all the while striking a forlorned pose and falling into Lakitoa's arms. Most of the audience seemed to ether roll their eyes or laugh, but a young voices gasped. Tom himself couldn't help but find Latula's story a bit over dramatic. Yet before anyone could call the battlegear expert out on it, he continued. "Or at least, so I thought. Little did I know that my soon to be darling Lakitoa was not on patrol, but in fact doing something else! He-"

"I think I can pick up the rest from here, Latula," Lakitoa cut in, smiling as he stood his lover up, before joining him on the small stool. Circling an arm around Latula, and ignoring the surprised and adoring look he was receiving, Lakitoa continued their story. "Anyway like Latula said, I wasn't on patrol. It was actually my down time when I had decided to "take a walk"..."

* * *

 _You see, at the time, I was just a simple mandiblor. Not the lowest of the low, but pretty down on the change of command. And well, I wasn't really content with this. I wanted to be something more, not like a Battle master or anything. I just wanted to create Mugic. And I had been doing a good job keeping my studies hidden, having a small hide away near the outposts of the Danian-Underworld border. Every few days I'd go out and take a stroll, knowing fully well of the patrol routes, and spend a few hours picking apart whatever Mugic I'd managed to snag or gather from trades._

 _So when I was on my merry way to figure out how a specific mugic worker, that's when I found him...some mipedian looking worse for wear._

 _Now by the second time he'd passed out, I figured out that he was not, in fact, a Mipedian. Or at least, that's what I figured. Why use you dying words to denounce you tribe, rather then say something else like, "Down with the Danians" or something. Yet I wasn't completely sure...And, well, I knew if I took him back to Mt Pillar, he'd ether be killed or worse._

 _And part of me was curious about the tribeless themselves. Very few Danians desert the hive and live to tell the tale, and very fewer even get kicked out, over being executed. To have all that freedom...I wanted to know what it was like._

 _So, I quickly scooped Latula up, dashed to my hideaway, and rummaged through my mugic notes to try and find something that would keep him stable. A few hurried minutes of hard research later, I managed to find a fitting healing Mugic, Ember Flourish to be exact, and had the luck of having one on hand._

 _And with that, the mysterious traveler Latula was healed, yet not fully repaired. His legs and back had taken most of the damage, and while the minor wounds had been settled, the major breaks still needed time to heal. At least, that what they looked like..._

 _I remember having been studying when he came too, his voice groaning from the table behind me. I made it into a makeshift bed, but with such short notice, it probably wasn't very comfortable. "Ugh…"_

" _Ah good, I was worried you'd wake up when I wasn't here," I said, keeping my gaze on a vat of mugic I'd been brewing. "Don't try to move too much, your legs are still broken."_

" _...wait, I'm alive?" Latula asked, trying to sit up, but he seemed to hiss when his back gave protest. "Cothica I'm alive!"_

" _Keep it down! Do you want the nearby patrol to hear you?" I snapped, still a bit nervous about getting caught in all this. Honestly, at the time, I should have just left him...But, well, I guess I'd always been soft. Seeing someone die for no reason but your cowardness? I couldn't really live with myself if I had. "Yes, you're alive. Now hush and just rest. The sooner you've healed the sooner you can leave..."_

 _There was a pause for a few moments, neither one of us saying anything, just listening to the Mugic brewing away. At least, until Latula spoke up again._

" _Thank you, Lakitoa." He said, I could hear the mirth in his voice. "I promise, I'll repay you for this."_

* * *

"And that," Latula cut in, by now having taken a step down to let Lakitoa balance better, "Is the tale of how I meet one of the most amazing Creatures in all of Perim!"

Lakitoa buried his face in all four hands as the audience clapped and cheered, yet Tom could clearly see the ex-mandiblor smiling underneath. With that, the crowd seemed to disburse, and all that remained was the four of them. Latula had managed to wiggle one of Lakitoa's hands away, holding it tightly in his own, and pulled the still embarrassed creature over.

"Ah! Picsis! Tom!" Latuall called out, even though they were only a few feet away. "Amazing story or what? I was even surprised!"

"It was great, Latula," Picsis giggled, no doubt use to her teacher's antics. "Thanks again for waiting on us."

"Oh, think nothing of it," Latula replied, still beaming, still smiling, still acting like a total goofball. "After all, I figured it be a good first story for someone to hear! But it seems it was also a wonderful first story to _tell_ , isn't that right?"

Lakitoa seemed to be ignoring his partner's smug looks, prefering to try and calm down from his embarrassment.

"Still, I had no idea you'd been to the Underworld, Latula," Tom piped up, deciding to save Lakitoa by changing the subject.

"Oh, I've been practically all over Perim!" Latula began, chest puffing up with pride. At least, until he seemed to remember something foul and allowed a scowl to grace his face. "Except for the north. It's far too cold for my liking. Why the closest I've ever gotten was-"

And like that, Latula was off, jabbering away almost as badly as Bodal did. Liktoa seemed to have recovered from his shock by now, taking to whisper to Tom and Picsis as he rolled his eyes. "You two better get going, else he'll talk the whole night away."

"Thanks Lakitoa," Tom chuckled, already deciding on where he wanted to go next. "C'mon, let's go check out the music!"

Hooking Picisis's arm with his own, he smirk as now it was _his_ turn to drag them through the crowds. Having caught her off guard, Tom managed to get the two of them close to the fire pits near the center of the Oasis, closer to the music and dancing. Well, at least until Picsis managed to slip her arm out of his, a sly look on her face.

"You get us a good spot," Picsis said, a devious look in her eye as she was already falling back into the crowd. "I gotta go get something real quick."

"Wait, but you'll miss all the music!" Tom called out, but it was already too late, seeing the girl practically vanish. Wait for a moment, but not a moment longer, Tom merely shrugged and tried to wiggle his way close to whichever band he could. He still wanted to each more stories, after all.


End file.
